


Power Shift

by redskittles30



Series: Power Series [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-04-17 21:07:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 61,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4681514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redskittles30/pseuds/redskittles30
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Can a doubting Kelley being in the right place at the wrong time stir the pot and change the balance of power established by dynamic duo Alex and Tobin who just happen to be her best friends?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Up On Top

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I don't know where this idea came from but I decided to come back and try it out and I'll continue if yall like it. Let's find out! Enjoy :)

“Everyone step aside! Make way for the power couple!” Lauren Cheney yelled as she stood at the beginning of Tanner Hall with raised arms trying to part the sea of students like Moses did with the Red Sea.

“Shut up Cheney” A smooth amused voice sounded through the hall.

As two slender muscular figures rounded the corner hand in hand, all the students in Tanner Hall actually did shuffle to either side of the hall causing Lauren to smirk.

“Shove it Tobin.” Lauren stuck her tongue out clearly proud even though the fellow students didn’t listen because of her… but because of them.

Tobin Heath: a magician with a ball with a smile that could bring world peace, a woman of few words but with a voice as smooth as butter, and would give the shirt off her back if you needed it.

Then there was Alex Morgan: a lean speed machine with blue eyes that could make you melt on the spot with one gaze, a raspy voice well that made you want to listen, whose intensity sometimes intimidated you on the field, but a complete sweetheart off the field.

Yes them; Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath. The dynamic duo star forward and star midfielder for the Santa Monica Sharks, best friends, and Santa Monica High School’s very own power couple.

Just like straight out of a movie, it was like the two soccer stars were walking in slow motion as everyone just stared in awe as they passed by. The duo had easily won the hearts of everyone at school with their on-field off-field chemistry.

The commotion soon was noticed by a familiar face.

“I should be happy for them right? They played so well last season, and they are playing even better this season. I should be a supportive best friend right?” Kelley sighed as she looked up the hall before turning back to her girlfriend. “Then why don’t I feel like one right now?”

“Yes you should because they are your best friends. I know you haven’t been seeing a lot of minutes lately Kell, but trust me you are a great player. Just be happy for them now because when you know that when your time comes, they will be happy for you.”

“I know that but it’s hard to see if my time will ever come. They are shining brighter than a fresh polished diamond, and Kling is thriving in her new left back position… MY left back position. Coach says I’m doing great in practice but I have yet to see my name on the start list, let alone a decent amount of minutes. I’ve played 45 minutes in 3 games. That’s not exactly encouraging.”

Hope sighed and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl protectively.

“You are one of the most versatile players on our team. You can literally play anywhere so just be patient love. You will get the minutes you deserve.”

“You have to say that because you’re my girlfriend.” Kelley sighed and buried further into Hope’s embrace.

Hope chuckled causing Kelley to pull away with questioning eyes.

“That is true but you know as my girlfriend that I never say anything I don’t mean. I truly believe you will get decent minutes and even a start very soon because you are a great player.” Hope kissed Kelley on the nose before pushing their foreheads together.

“Besides, you will always be my superstar.” Hope smiled before pressing their lips together.

Kelley pulled back a minute later and smiled dreamily up at the keeper.

“God if only everyone knew how much of a softy you really are.” Kelley joked earning her a glare.

“That is for you to know and no one ever to find out.” Hoped warned but couldn’t hide the smile in her voice.

“Sure, sure. Now get to Calc before you’re late again and Mrs. Cooper keeps you away from me for a whole afternoon!”

“Yes ma’am!” Hope saluted before stealing a kiss and smacking her butt as she left for her class.

‘And they say I’m the child.’

Kelley watched Hope walk away before walking to catch up with her friends.

“Yo Tobs you da best!”

“Yooo Tooobiiiinnn. The nutmeg queen herself.”

“Alex you were on fire last game!”

Easily the most popular and well liked couple, Tobin high fived the random students that passed as Alex smiled humbly as she gripped Tobin’s waist tighter.

A jealousy from deep within that Kelley so desperately tried to hide and deny started to surface as she listened to the students call out to the two soccer players.

“You were saying your majesty?” Lauren bowed dramatically.

“Shut up. And I would be nothing without this beautiful queen right here.” Tobin winked as Alex grinned widely.

“Oh stop it.” Alex laughed as she leaned in to peck Tobin on the lips.

Tobin hummed in approval and tugged on the hem of Alex’s (Tobin’s) varsity jacket.

“Have I ever told you that you look so damn good in this jacket?”

Alex blushed and buried her face in Tobin’s neck and placed a gentle kiss at the base of her throat.

“Once or twice.” Alex murmured against her neck.

Kelley rolled her eyes before finally making her presence known.

“OH PUH-LEEZE! She literally has the same jacket. Actually the whole team does.” She fake gagged as she sidled up next to the couple making Lauren snicker and high five her.

“Hmm I guess you’re right. Must be the name on the collar.” Tobin chuckled cockily making the laughter in her throat vibrate Alex’s cheek and winking at Kelley.

“You’re impossible Heath!” Kelley rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time and grabbed Lauren to head off to their Chemistry class.

“But you love us!” Alex lifted her head to shout at Kelley before turning her attention back to Tobin and leaning in to whisper in her ear.

“Play your cards right stud and maybe you’ll see that name on the back of my jersey one day.”

Tobin shivered at the words and kissed Alex deeply before tucking her right hand in Alex’s back jean pocket and continued to their last class of the day.


	2. Up And Then Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is there a new fan favorite?

The final bell rang and the students eagerly left to get plans together to see the game.

All 23 players headed straight to the gym to find out the lineup and hear the pregame speech from Coach Warner. Game time was about 2 hours away.

Coach Warner met the girls in the gym and they all charged at him but skidded to a stop when he held one hand out in front him.

“Easy there! I know you’re all anxious to see who is starting but jeez! Relax!” The older man laughed before taping the paper to the wall and jumping out of the way.

Everyone ran up to the wall pushing and shoving and dodging a few elbow jabs from Pinoe here and there.

Goal: Solo   
Defenders: Krieger, Broon, JJ, Kling   
Midfielders: Heath, Cheney, Lloyd, Pinoe   
Forwards: Morgan, Press

Although not surprised, it didn’t stop the bit of disappointed Kelley felt bubble inside her.

‘Why did I think today would be different.’

She plastered a fake smile on for the team before breaking off and heading into the locker room to change into their warm ups.

As soon as Kelley pulled her jersey over her head, she felt a presence behind her and turned around.

“Man I will never get tired of that view” Hope smirked and she moved closer and ran her hands and up and down Kelley’s sides causing Kelley to close her eyes.

“I know you’re disappointed but we do have 3 subs and it’s a pretty important game. You’re an important playmaker so keep your hopes up. I love you.” Hope encouraged before kissing Kelley and going to her own locker to put her gloves on.

The game was very physical and well fought for. Brentwood was up 1-0 and had tallied 4 yellow cards while Santa Monica wasn’t far behind with 3 and it was only minute 19.

First half was winding down and the Sharks were doing everything they could to press for the equalizer by half time.

In the 44th minute, the ball had gone out for a Sharks throw in. Pinoe took the throw finding Lloyd who chested it down to Tobin who was streaking in on the left. She nutmegged her defender and took off towards goal. As she caught sight of a Brentwood player coming in hot, she looked up and caught sight of pink. Suddenly she stopped and right before the Brentwood player slid, Tobin rainbow kicked the ball which met Alex who slammed the ball into the upper right corner of the net.

The dynamic duo strikes again!

The crowd exploded in cheers as Alex scored the equalizer with an amazing assist from Tobin. Alex ran straight to her middy before leaping into her arms. Tobin caught her but then soon the team caught up and dog piled them to the ground.

Everyone on the bench were screaming, even Kelley was up on her feet cheering her best friends. She may have been sour about not playing but she couldn’t deny the fantastic skill and even better finish.

The half ended and Santa Monica was happy to have gotten the equalizer.

The teams came back out and second half was under way. Two minutes in, disaster struck. Brentwood was obviously not happy and retaliated in the wrong way. Tobin was running up field and threaded the ball to Alex who was about to turn and run when a Brentwood player came in rather harsh and slid spikes up and crashed into Alex’s left ankle.

Alex screamed out and slammed to the ground and the crowd started to boo.

“ALEX!” Tobin screamed and ran towards Alex and slid next to her.

The ref immediately showed red a card to the player but everyone’s attention was on Alex who now was rolling on the ground screaming in pain.

“IT HURTS! IT FUCKING HURTS! OWWW!” Alex cried as she continued to roll back and forth.

“Alex baby, it’s me. The medical staff is coming. It’s going to be okay.” Tobin tried to shake the worry out of her voice.

“Don’t leave me!” Alex whimpered.

“I wouldn’t dare!” Tobin tried to assure her.

Alex gripped Tobin’s hand for dear life as the medical trainer came on to assess.

“It might be broken, we need to send her to the hospital. Tobin I need you to let go.” The trainer said authoritvely.

“No! I’m going with her!” Tobin shouted.

“Tobin! We need you to finish. You can see Alex right after!” That voice was Coach Warner.

“T-t-toby. Win this for me!” Alex stuttered.

“I won’t let you down baby.” Tobin promised as she kissed Alex and they took her away.

“O’HARA! YOU’RE SUBBING IN. WARM UP NOW” Coach boomed.

Kelley was so preoccupied with worrying about Alex she didn’t even hear coach until Sydney nudged her.

“Dude, coach wants you in.”

“ME?” Kelley shrieked.

“Yes you, now go.” Sydney laughed.

_Coming into the match for number 13, number 5: Kelley Oooooo’Haraaa._

She was nervous and it showed. She kept losing possession easily and one instance led to a Brentwood breakaway which would have caused a goal if it was any other keeper other than Hope Solo.

Hope called Kelley over and grabbed her shoulders.

“Babe, I know you’re nervous but you are a better player than you are right now. Pretend it’s practice and enjoy yourself. I know this is a big game but pretend that it’s not. You can do this. Prove to coach you deserve this. Believe in yourself just like I believe in you.” Hope smiled and then smacked her butt to send her on her way.

Something clicked in Kelley. She won every challenge she threw at Brentwood, and started connecting with her teammates.

In the 74th minute, Lauren kicked a long ball to Pinoe who then crossed it and it met a teammate’s right foot in the penalty area and hit the back of the net.

_GOAL IN THE 75 TH MINUTE PUTS SHARKS AHEAD 2-1! GOAL BY NUMBER 5, KELLEY O’HARA. ASSISTED BY NUMBER 15, MEGAN RAPINOE!_

Kelley couldn’t believe it. She finally was seeing some minutes, and she scored. All of a sudden, she took off sprinting all the way to her end of the field and jumped into Hope’s awaiting arms.

“I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT BABY!” Hope yelled as she squeezed the tiny girl.

“Thank you for believing in me.” Kelley nuzzled her neck before going back to line up.

Brentwood kicked off but Kelley had a fire in her. She went on to score 5 minutes later and then again in the 93 minute.

They did it! The Sharks beat their rivals, clinched play offs with home field advantage, and Kelley not only saw minutes but scored a hat trick.

The crowd went wild and started chanting Kelley’s name and cheered louder as the team lifted her in the air.

A new player of the match was crowned in the form of one Kelley O’Hara. And the way the crowd cheered, Kelley felt like the atmosphere at school was about to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All feedback welcomed. Continue it? Delete it? The power is yours haha.


	3. Broken Laws, Confidence Flaws, And Cheesy Goodness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad news and self doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things in my personal life have kept me from this story on top of where I wanted to head with this story and writer's block. But some people wanted me to continue so I'm going to try. All types of feedback welcomed and appreciated.

The concept of time could either be your best friend or your worst enemy; and right now it was Tobin’s worst enemy.

She had no time to celebrate with her team. She had no time to congratulate Kelley. She had no time to change out of her uniform. She didn’t even have time for shoes after she kicked off her cleats.

Tobin only had time to grab her car keys before she was in her car and speeding down the road to Santa Monica University Hospital.

The car was barely in park before Tobin jumped from the driver’s seat and started sprinting towards the building, through the front doors, and up to the nurse’s station.

“Alex Morgan! I need the room to Alex Morgan! I’m more than family to her! Please! I need Alex Morgan!” Tobin shrieked loudly as tears started to brim her honey brown eyes.

The nurse looked up a little startled at the suddenness of Tobin being in front of her and shouting. She took a moment to take in the appearance of Tobin who was all sweaty and dirty with no shoes. For all she knew, she could have been a crazy person and dangerous.

However, it was the way Tobin’s eyes held nothing but fear and a sense of urgency that was enough for the nurse to sway her decision from calling security to being a helpful hero.

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

“Alex Morgan room 330. Take the elevator to the-“Her words after that fell on deaf ears as Tobin disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

Tobin reached the elevator and pushed the up button 5 times trying to will the elevator to arrive faster. She groaned and cursed at the elevator that was taking too long even when it was only 5 seconds in reality.

Despite being exhausted from playing a 90 minute game and running through the hospital, Tobin spotted the entrance to the stairway and took off 2 stairs at a time.

Finally on level 3, Tobin flew down the corridor.

330!

Tobin burst through the door and skidded to a stop. She rested her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath.

“Tobin?”

Tobin looked up and met the face of Alex and tried to smile despite struggling to breath.

“Al. Alex. Are. Are you okay?” She tried to get out between heavy pants.

“Babe, where are your shoes?” Alex mused.

She looked down at her feet and back up into her favorite blue eyes.

“I didn’t have time for anything after the game. I grabbed my keys, broke every driving law there is, and came here. I needed to know that you were okay.”

Alex’s heart melted as she smiled brightly at Tobin.

“You’re too cute. I’m okay. It’s only a really bad sprain which is the good news. The bad news is I probably will miss playoffs and the championship.”

Tobin frowned as Alex visibly deflated from the possibility of missing the championship run. She walked over to Alex and made her scoot to the side so she could climb in.

Alex nuzzled into Tobin’s neck as Tobin wrapped her arms around Alex.

The two were quiet for a moment before Alex giggled.

“Broke all the driving laws huh? You’re like the safest driver ever.”

“Yeah well… When my girlfriend is hurt, what are a few broken rules?”

Alex pulled back a little to look into Tobin’s eyes with an arched eyebrow and Tobin gulped.

“It wasn’t that bad. I was exaggerating.”

Alex continued to glare.

“Okay! It was a few red lights, some stop signs, and I may have gone 80 the whole way. I’m not sorry though. You were hurt and they made me continue the game not knowing if you were okay or not. I just wanted to know if you were okay. If I got a few tickets, which I didn’t by the way, then so be it. All that mattered was that I got here to you.”

Alex softened and dipped her head to nuzzle Tobin again and placed a gentle kiss at the base of her throat.

“You’re perfect and I love you.”

“I love you more.”

 

***Meanwhile back at the field***

Hope ran to Kelley and picked her up and swung her around.

“You kicked ass out there babe!”

Kelley grinned widely and kissed Hope with all the energy she could muster up.

Soon the team crowded them and hoisted Kelley in the air.

“Kelley! Kelley! Kelley!” Everyone chanted as they threw Kelley up and down.

Coach Warner yelled for the girls to gather around him at the team bench.

“I just want to say how proud I am of each and every one of you. It was a hard fought battle and we lost a valuable solider but we rose against the challenge. After a loss and a couple draws throughout the season, we finally beat Brentwood and for a playoff berth no less. I also want to crown the player of the match which should be no surprise. Come here Kelley!”

Everyone whooped and hollered as Kelley made her way to the center of the circle.

“Kelley you did an amazing job today coming in for Alex. You were a little shaky at first but once you got your groove, man did you shine. I know the team is proud of you, and I most certainly am proud. Congratulations!”

The girls all dog piled Kelley and started cheering as Coach Warner stood back and laughed at his players. Once they all calmed down and started to get up, coach cleared his throat.

“I want you to enjoy this win so I am giving you tonight and Saturday off but its back to work first thing Sunday morning. We have Palace Vista next Saturday to see who goes to the semifinals. Kelley will you do the honors?”

Kelley smiled and put her hand in the middle of the group. Everyone stuck a hand out and on top of Kelley’s with Coach being the one on top.

“SHARKS ON THREE! ONE, TWO, THREE, SHARKS!”

The team broke apart and started grabbing their stuff to head to the locker rooms. Kelley weaved through the group until she found who she was looking for talking to Ali and Ashlyn.

She snuck up behind Hope and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“Hi” she chirped from behind Hope.

“Great game today squirrel! We’ll see you later!” Ashlyn fist bumped Kelley as she grabbed Ali’s hand and headed for the locker room.

“Hey there superstar” Hope smiled as she turned around and placed a soft kiss on Kelley’s lips. Kelley melted in Hope’s arms.

“I can’t believe it. I got minutes AND scored a hat trick!”

“I can. You’re an amazing player Kelley and I told you to keep faith. You have greatness in you and you are going to do great things.”

Kelley smiled and burrowed further into Hope’s neck.

“I love you.”

Hope pulled Kelley away from her body and kissed her again before turning around.

“I love you too. Now hop on! We have to check on Alex and then we have celebrating to do!”

Kelley squealed as she jumped on Hope’s back and Koala-ed around her keeper.

 

Later that night, everyone gathered at Pinoe’s house to celebrate the win. With Tobin close behind, Alex crutched her way up the sidewalk and through the front door.

“Alex is here!” Sydney screamed causing everyone to look towards the front door.

“How are you?!”

“Is everything okay?!”

“Do I have to get rid of that Brentwood bitch? I know how to make it look like an accident.”

Alex laughed as she hobbled to the couch and took a seat.

“Hey guys! Good news is my ankle isn’t broken. Bad news is I will miss the semis and maybe the final. Pinoe please don’t. If you get caught I will not be an accomplice. I would NOT make it in jail.” This caused everyone to laugh.

“Yeah baby horse would be Big Bertha’s bitch.” Ashlyn cracked up earning her a smack from Ali.

“Excuse you!” Tobin piped in and glared causing everyone to laugh harder.

“Okay, okay relax. Enough about me; a little birdie told me a certain squirrel of ours scored a hat trick. Way to go Kelley!”

Kelley beamed and tried to hide a blush.

“Thank you Alex! I’m sorry it happened because of unfortunate events.”

“Don’t be. Yeah it sucks, but you deserve it! You’re a great player and the perfect choice to step in for me!”

“Thanks Al.” Kelley smiled but her thoughts got the best of her.

She knew Alex meant nothing by it, but it still tugged a little on Kelley’s nerve. Did Alex think of her as only a bench player?

_‘Don’t be stupid O’Hara. Alex is your best friend who is nothing but supportive of you._ ’

Kelley fought with herself because the truth was if Alex never got hurt, she might not have seen any minutes. And if she never saw any minutes, she never would have scored those goals.

Kelley decided to push that thought away and enjoy her time with her teammates.

As the night progressed, the nagging feeling came back and Kelley excused herself to one of the spare bedrooms upstairs.

She sat on the bed with her head in her hands and took a minute to reflect on the day’s events: the scrappy game, Carli almost getting ejected, Santa Monica and Brentwood players were scraped and bruised, and Alex having to leave the game injured.

She finally saw the minutes she so desperately wanted and she scored. And not only did she score, but she scored a hat trick; a career first.

However, she saw those minutes and goals at the expense of one of her best friends getting hurt. A huge part of her was upset that Alex was hurt. There was also a part of her that didn’t feel so bad because coach chose her, a defender, to sub in for Alex.

_‘Sub in.’_   Kelley thought as Alex’s words from earlier crept in.

**_“The perfect choice to step in for me.”_ **

Kelley couldn’t help but get a little angry. She was a sub, a second choice; a choice that might not have happened without the first choice being taken out of the equation.

Too wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the door creak open.

“Hey, are you okay? You are never one to veer off by yourself.”

Kelley looked up to the concerned face of her girlfriend.

“Am I always going to be second choice?” Kelley asked in a small voice.

Hope furrowed her eyebrows and sat next to Kelley and rubbed her back.

“What?”

Kelly sighed and leaned her head on Hope’s shoulder.

“I’m happy that I got minutes and scored, but I only got the opportunity because Alex got hurt. Will I always be in the shadows and only needed when there aren’t other options?”

Hope tugged Kelley closer to her side and kissed her temple.

“Babe, you aren’t on the team just because you’re pretty. You made the team for your skill just like everyone else. You did get the opportunity because of an injury but it’s not because there weren’t other options. We have forwards, and he chose you, a defender, to step in. That right there proves that you’re not last choice because he played you **out** of positon over players that are **in** that position. Coach believed in you and you proved him right by winning us the game with flying colors.”

Kelley thought about what Hope said and smiled faintly before frowning again.

“Am I a terrible person for being happy I got my shot even though Alex is hurt?”

“Of course you’re not terrible person for being happy. Babe, you deserve to get minutes and you deserve to score all the goals your little heart desires. You didn’t wish Alex to get hurt and you didn’t tell that Brentwood player to make that reckless challenge. Yes what happened to Alex was unfortunate, but these things happen in soccer. Injuries are going to happen but the game must go on. You can feel bad for Alex and be happy for yourself at the same time without being a terrible person. You are far from that.”

“Really?”

“Yes really. Now stop second guessing yourself. Stop thinking Alex or anyone else is better than you. Embrace your goals and embrace the win.”

Hope leaned in to place a kiss on Kelley’s lips before pulling back and smirking.

“Plus you’ll always be my first choice.”

“I better be!” Kelley slapped Hope’s arm.

Hope laughed and rested her forehead against Kelley’s as she rubbed Kelley’s sides.

“I say it’s time to go home. You’re about to be scoring more than just goals tonight.”

“Well if that’s the case… looks like you’re going to be scoring for once instead of saving.” Kelley tried to keep a straight face but ended up laughing as she stood up and pulled Hope with her.

Kelley almost got to the door before Hope tugged her back and pushed her against the door. She kissed Kelley with a new energy as her right hand traveled over her breasts, down Kelley’s abs, and hovered over her most sensitive area.

As Hope pulled away with Kelley’s bottom lip between her teeth, she ever so gently cupped Kelley over her jeans.

“GOOOOAAALLLL” Hope whispered yelled in an announcer against her lips.

“God we are so cheesy” Kelley half moaned, half laughed.

Hope smirked and pulled away as she grabbed Kelley’s hand to make her way downstairs.

“Let’s go squirrel. 3 goals mean 3 rounds.”

Kelley’s hazel eyes darkened even more as she bit her lip and walked a little faster.

_‘It’s going to be a long, successful night.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter with be the first day of school after the game and see how the school dynamics change. Depending how I write it and the feedback, that will be the make or break point for this story. Thank you for continuing this journey with me.


	4. Charmed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One hopes to start playing again while another hopes to continue.

Alex sat on the bench outside Coach Warner’s office with her head in her hands as she just got done talking over everything with the older gentleman about last Friday’s game. While he was hopeful Alex would be okay for the final permitted they make it, Alex could see a hint of doubt flash quickly through his eyes.

She rubbed her temples as she drifted off in thought.

_'How can I go from soccer hero to soccer zero?’_

Alex laughed to herself at the cliché of her thought before refocusing her eyes on the tiled floor again.

It’s true though; Alex was shattering records and shining brighter than the sun in her high school soccer career. However, that all changed last Friday and now she was tainted as she glared at the metal crutches propped against the wall next to her bandaged foot.

She didn’t think that she would ever be in this situation. She was Alex Morgan, star forward; not Alex Morgan, injured bench warmer.

“Hey you ready to go? I can’t have you late to class now can I?” Tobin’s smooth voice broke Alex from her pity party.

Alex smiled at Tobin before raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“But your class is at the other end of the school. You’ll be late.”

Tobin laughed at this.

“Please. Ms. Anderson loves me and will not yell at me. No one can resist my charm.” Tobin smirked and flicked her shirt material on her shoulders up.

“I did freshman year.”

“Yeah well, look where you are now.” Tobin smirked again as she dutifully grabbed Alex’s backpack and slung it over her shoulder and went to hold the door open for Alex.

Alex rolled her eyes but kissed Tobin as she crutched by.

Tobin kissed Alex goodbye, waved to Mr. Sampson, and scampered off to her philosophy class. The bell rang just as Tobin was entering the hall and booked it to her classroom.

Ms. Anderson was writing something on the board when Tobin approached and quietly slid in to her seat as Lauren rolled her eyes at her best friend. Tobin stuck her tongue out and faced front.

When the bell rang, Tobin quickly packed her stuff and was about to run out when Ms. Anderson had a different agenda.

“Ms. Heath, can you please come up to my desk.”

Tobin sighed and looked at her watch before walking over to the desk.

_‘At least Sydney can walk Alex to lunch if I run late.’_

“I noticed you were late today. Care to explain?”

“Was I really late or was I early for your next class?” Tobin tried to pull a philosophy stunt to no amusement to her teacher as Ms. Anderson narrowed her eyes.

“I’m sorry, that was a smart remark.”

“Ms. Heath you know I don’t allow tardiness to my class. Do you have a good explanation or do I have to talk to Coach Warner about seeing you today after school instead of soccer practice?”

Fear flashed through Tobin’s eyes at the prospect of not only receiving detention, but experiencing the wrath of coach for missing practice. Coach Warner was the sweetest guy you could ever meet but could also be your worst nightmare if you messed with soccer. But as quickly as the fear crept in, it quickly disappeared and Tobin put on a charming smile.

“Ms. Anderson there is no need to talk to Coach. I am truly sorry that I was late to class because I love this class and you’re my favorite teacher. I was late today because Alex got hurt at the game on Friday and now she is on crutches. I was only serving my duty of being a good girlfriend and helping her to class. I know I could have probably had Sydney do it, but she is just so bummed about her injury I thought I could cheer her up.”

Ms. Anderson’s face softened and even sported a tiny smile. Like everyone else at the school, she knew the dynamics of the two star soccer players.

“What am I going to do with you Tobin?”

Tobin smiled an even bigger smile showing off her pearly white teeth.

“Not get me in trouble for being a good girlfriend and let’s be honest, you’re favorite student as well.”

It was true; Tobin was a straight A student in Anderson’s class and the teacher appreciated every contribution Tobin made while the other students just stared with a blank face. Anderson’s smile grew just a tad more.

“How long is poor Alex hurt for?”

Tobin flashed a sad smile as she looked back at her teacher.

“I’m not sure. It’s not broken so I’m really hoping she will be able to get some minutes in at the final. She deserves it.”

It was quiet for a moment while Ms. Anderson quickly scribbled on a piece of paper before she cleared her throat to get Tobin’s attention.

“Tobin, please keep this in your backpack just in case. I will see you tomorrow.”

Confused, Tobin read the note real quick before grinning ear to ear and safely tucking the paper in the front pocket of her bag.

“Thanks Ms. Anderson! You are the best!” Tobin fist pumped the air as she started to leave.

“And Tobin?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t go telling the other students you’re my favorite. Don’t want to start any riots now huh?” The teacher smiled brightly at Tobin.

“You got it teach!” Tobin saluted to her teacher before taking off for Alex and smirking to herself.

_‘Take that Alex.’_

 

Meanwhile on the other side of the school, Hope was leaning against lockers talking to Kelley while they waited for Carli to get out of her class down the hall so they could walk to lunch.

“We could just meet her at the cafeteria you know.” Kelley smirked as she played with the hem of Hope’s shirt.

“Excuse you. She is my best friend.” Hope moved back a little to glare at the shorter girl.

The two were playfully bantering back and forth when cheers broke them from their thoughts.

“Great game Friday Kelley!”

“Kelley you were on fire!”

“You da bomb O’Hara.”

Kelley averted her attention to acknowledge the cheering students.

_‘Usually only the team congratulates me. This is new.’_

Kelley smiled wider as some passing students high fived her.

Hope felt a sense of pride and joy spread through her body as she watched Kelley take in the praise. Kelley deserved every amount of praise because the girl was an amazing player.

The cheers started to die down and Hope couldn’t take it anymore. She tugged Kelley closer to her and dipped her head down to nuzzle into her neck.

“Look at you miss superstar. I am so proud of you babe.” She mumbled against her neck causing Kelley to get butterflies at the breath dancing on her neck.

“I couldn’t do it without your support baby.”

The two swayed for a few moments before a gagging noise broke them from their bliss.

“I’m trying to eat my lunch and keep it down thank you very much.” Carli made a face but threw a wink at the duo.

“Oh shut up Princess. I can’t help it that I’m so proud my girlfriend is so good at soccer.”

Hope leaned in and pecked Kelley on the lips.

“And funny.”

Kiss.

“And beautiful.”

Kiss.

“And smart.”

Kiss.

“And-“

“GOODBYE!” Carli cut in and walked ahead to the lunch room causing the two to break into giggles.

Hope grabbed Kelley’s hand and pushed off the lockers to head to the cafeteria.

“Finally.”

“Oh stop, you love her.”

“Sometimes, but enough about her. I really am so proud of you babe. You really proved that you deserve to get the minutes that you should have been getting all along. Hopefully coach will give you constant minutes.”

Kelley smiled at the encouraging words and squeezed Hope’s hand.

“Maybe this school has room for two power couples!” Kelley excitedly clapped at the prospect of becoming a legend with her best friends and girlfriend.

“Maybe. Sure they cheer for me on the field, but you don’t see students coming up to me every day for high fives like they do to Tobin, Alex, and now you.”

“Well that’s because you have resting bitch face. If only they knew how much of a softie their star mean angry goal keeper actually is.”

“No they don’t although I’m not that soft!”

Kelley smirked to herself and put on a pout.

“Babe, I left my lunch on the counter this morning.”

Hope immediately let go of Kelley’s hand and took out her wallet.

“Did you eat breakfast? How hungry are you? We won’t stop at the table and we’ll go straight to the line.”

Kelley smiled as she fished out a brown bag out of her backpack and grabbed Hope’s hand again.

“You see? Softttttt.” Kelley giggled and smiled up at Hope.

“Shut up.” Hope couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice as she tugged Kelley along to the cafeteria.

 

Hope and Kelley joined most of their teammates at their table when Kelley noticed Alex looking from one side of the lunch room to other repeatedly.

She was about to say something when she heard loud footsteps and Alex instantly brightened.

Tobin came running through the doors and skidded to a stop right behind her seat next to Alex.

“Sorry, Ms. Anderson had to talk to me after class.”

She caught her breath and leaned down to Alex.

“Missed you beautiful.”

Alex returned the kiss before pulling away and smirking at Tobin.

“You got in trouble didn’t you?”

“Ooohhhh! Toby got in trouble!” Lauren piped in and laughed.

“I told you not to call me that! And no smarty pants, I did not.”

“Really?”

“Really. Now let’s eat because I’m starving!”

The group of soccer players was halfway through lunch when a symphony of cell phone vibrations erupted on the table. Everyone checked their phones to see a group text from their coach.

**Game has been moved up to this Thursday.**   
**Practice will be twice as long after school to make sure we are ready.**   
**We can do this ladies!**

Some groaned and some just shrugged and returned to eating.

Tobin looked over at Alex who stayed quiet and was just staring at her phone with a pout. She leaned over and wrapped her arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer to press a kiss to her right temple.

“You’ll be back playing before you know it. You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

Alex just sighed and burrowed further into Tobin’s side.

“I just want to play.”

“I know Lex. Just keep doing what you’re doing to get it to heal as quickly as possible. Plus I know God won’t keep my partner in crime away from me for too long. We have soccer games to dominate.”

Alex smiled at that before leaning up to place a kiss on Tobin’s jawline.

“You always know what to say. I love you.” Tobin smiled and kissed Alex passionately.

“I love you too.”

“Control yourselves you horn dogs. I’m trying to eat here!” Kelley yelled from across them through a ham sandwich.

Tobin pulled away and shot a glare at Kelley.

“At least you can see our hands.” Tobin smirked.

Everyone looked towards the commotion and laughed as Kelley and Tobin were sticking their tongues out at each other while a very red Hope tried to subtly move Kelley’s hand away from the inside of her left thigh.

Alex rolled her eyes as she flicked Tobin’s ear.

“Enough. So you really didn’t get in any trouble?”

Tobin retrieved the note from the safety of its pocket and slid it over to Alex with a proud smile. Alex took the note and read it out loud.

**Tobin Heath is excused to be a few minutes late to my class every day until Alex Morgan is off crutches and able to walk to class alone.**   
**Signed, Jamie Anderson**   
**Philosophy, Room 115**

Alex just stared in disbelief as everyone else chuckled from shock.

“Damn Tobs, you really can charm the pants off anyone.”

“I guess, but there’s only one person that my pants come off for.” Tobin smiled which earned her a slap from a blushing Alex and playful eye rolls from everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***spoiler alert*** time for the good stuff. its game day next chapter and tempers may or may not start to flair. anyone game? :)


	5. Because I Can't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex tries to be supportive, really she does. But she wants to be out on that field...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow there is a lot here! I probably should have broken it up but I just kept writing and I was like a long chapter for loyal readers can't be wrong haha. enjoy!

Kelley stirred for what felt like 100th time during the night before she decided to give up. She glanced at the clock and glared when the numbers flashed 4:47 am in a taunting bright green.

Taking a quick peek at the figure next to her facing the window, Kelley turned her attention to the sky lights in her ceiling and weighed her options.

She could lay there and fidget until her alarm went off at 6:15. That didn’t sound fun.

She could wake up Hope and have morning sex. No, Hope needed as much rest if she was going to stay strong in goal today.

She could go for a run and run off her worries. No, it was already game day so that wasn’t a wise choice.

_‘So many options and the sun haven’t even risen yet.’_

Kelley scoffed before sliding out of bed as quietly as she could and headed to her balcony. Sliding the door open slowly, she crept out and sat in her lounger chair looking out over her backyard.

_‘What if I’m still not good enough to start? We have plenty of forwards to choose from and coach is still favoring Kling for left back. I know I played great last game. I just hope coach gives me another chance to prove that it wasn’t just a lucky game. I can be the player Hope sees me as. I can be the player I know I can be.’_

Hope wasn’t the lightest sleeper but she was extremely tuned into her senses. It was one of the main reasons she was such a great goal keeper. So even asleep, the littlest shift in the bed alerted Hope that Kelley was no longer next to her. She didn’t even have to turn around to confirm what she already knew when she heard the sliding glass door slide open.

She waited a few minutes before turning over in bed and peered over towards to the door. She observed Kelley and admired the way the early morning moonlight danced over her skin. Her eyes scanned her body and frowned at the stiff and rigidness.

_‘To leave her to her thoughts or go to her._ ’

Hope weighed her options as she kept her eyes trained on Kelley. As she watched Kelley for a few quiet moments, she saw her shoulders eventually give and slouch down. Her body seemed to give one good shake and while it was only one, it was one too many in Hope’s opinion and she was out of bed not a second later and moved towards the door.

“Hey.” She softly called from the doorway hoping to not scare the shorter girl.

Kelley stiffened but instantly relaxed as she registered it was Hope’s voice but didn’t respond.

“You don’t have to sleep but why don’t you come back to bed with me. We can sit in silence if you want.” She tried again but was met with more silence.

Instead of requesting more ideas to fall on deaf ears, Hope disappeared quickly to grab a blanket and her phone and reappeared.

Setting an alarm on her phone for 6:15, she placed the phone on the table next to chair and sat behind Kelley. She reached forward and tugged Kelley between her legs and into her chest and smiled slightly at the lack of resistance. She grabbed the blanket and draped it over them and wrapped her arms around Kelley’s waist and placed a kiss to the back of her head.

If Kelley wasn’t going to come to bed, she was going to bring the bed to Kelley.

The two laid in silence in the quiet of the early morning for a while before Kelley started to shuffle around until she was sideways in Hope’s lap and her head buried in her chest.

“What if coach still doesn’t believe in me?”

It was the quietest admission and it would have gone unheard to the untrained ear but Hope heard it loud and clear as if Kelley had yelled it.

“Babe, I’m not trying to fault you for your feelings, but where is all this doubt coming from? You’ve never needed the validation of your skills before, so why start now?”

“I never needed it because I was always getting looked at. If I wasn’t starting, I was always one of the three subs. I guess this season is different because I haven’t see minutes like I’m used to.” Kelley whispered and buried further into Hope ashamed of what she just said.

_‘God I sound like a stuck up brat.’_

“Kelley, listen to me. Just because you haven’t seen as many minutes as you’ve seen in the past doesn’t devalue your skill and worth on this team. With the depth of our team and you still on it already proves and validates your value.”

Kelley grabbed a fistful of Hope’s tank top but still kept quiet causing Hope to sigh.

_‘Maybe I need a tougher approach. I’m sorry Kelley.’_

“Okay, let’s say coach did put your skills on the back burner. Maybe he only meant to try out Kling at left back to see the versatility of the team and his eyes lit up like a kid’s in a candy store when she played just as well as you. Maybe he was blinded by NEW talent and forgot veteran talent. Maybe he was wrapped up in the perfect execution of dynamic duo in Tobin and Alex. But you know what? Alex got hurt. And as terrible and unfortunate as it was, it opened coach’s eyes. A valuable player went down and he needed to compensate talent for talent and that’s when his vision cleared and the light found you again. Yes he could have put another forward in, but he put all his trust in you and you didn’t fail him. You validated his trust which validated your skill. So please stop doubting yourself because you are an exceptional player and I can’t stress that enough.”

Kelley sniffed and gripped Hope’s shirt tighter and burrowed in her chest impossibly further.

“I’m sorry if that was too direct and tough. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was only trying to make you see what I see and I should have-“Hope rambled but Kelley cut her off.

“Hope I’m not upset. I was touched by your words because you always know what to say. Thank you. I don’t need anyone to validate anything as long as I know I’m being the best player that I can be.” Kelley smiled and leaned up to kiss Hope’s jaw. “It also is great to know that I make you proud.”

“You always make me proud. I’m proud of the person you are and I’m proud of the player you are. You also make me proud of myself. I’m proud of the decisions I’ve made ever since you came into my life. You’ve pushed me to be a better person all around.” Hope admitted with such honesty that it actually rendered Kelley O’Hara speechless.

With her words escaping her at the moment, Kelley shifted again so she was straddling Hope and leaned in to attack her face with kisses before indulging in her lips. Her tongue swiped across Hope’s bottom lip that was parting even before Kelley’s tongue could travel the whole length.

After a few minutes of heavy making out, Kelley pulled back panting and connected their foreheads.

“I never knew someone could make me not just **listen** to words, but **feel** them. How did I get so lucky?” Kelley breathed as she closed her eyes.

“I ask myself that every day.” Hope whispered millimeters from Kelley’s lips before connecting.

Hope’s alarm broke through their own little bubble causing both girls to groan.

“We should get going. It’s Game Day!” Kelley squealed as she bounced up and dragged Hope behind her.

 

Hope and Kelley arrived at school and went straight to the quad to meet up with the gals.

“IT’S GAME DAY!” Kelley squealed still in the parking lot.

“GAMEEE DAYYY!” Pinoe yelled back and jumped on the table she was sitting at.

“Get down Pinoe! It is too early for this!” Syd chastised as she swatted at Pinoe’s calf.

Hope rolled her eyes but smiled as she flicked Tobin on the ear before plopping down next to her and pulling Kelley in her lap.

“God Tobs, let Alex breathe! Her foot is already injured and we don’t need her suffocating too!”

Tobin pulled away and gave Hope a smug look.

“I’ll have you know that we, well I have since Alex is great at everything, perfected the art of breathing in between kisses so we can kiss longer.” Tobin proudly stated.

“I taught her! When you have skills like this stud, you don’t want to waste time waiting to catch your breath.” Alex piped in.

“That’s not the only thing we learned to do longer.” Tobin winked causing Alex to turn bright red and hide in Tobin’s neck.

“I’m about to see my pancakes again!” Ashlyn groaned playfully earning snickers from the group.

“Like you and Ali are any better? I’m still recovering from seeing more of Ali than I ever wanted to last week, no offense Ali.” Tobin glared.

“Maybe you should stop creeping on private time!” Ashlyn fought back.

“WE WERE IN THE LIBRARY!” Tobin shot back.

Lauren being the peace maker in the group thought it was time to intervene.

“Okay, okay that’s enough. Tobs, take a break. Ashlyn, Ali is gorgeous but there are children in the library! Now make up.”

Tobin stuck her tongue at Ashlyn who reciprocated the action.

“Tobin Powell… Ashlyn Michelle.”

The two were in a stare down when Tobin’s lip quivered trying not to laugh and Ashlyn lost it.

“I’m sorry bro. We can’t help it that we have the hottest girlfriends.” Ashlyn wrapped an arm around Ali and held her fist out to Tobin.

“You got that right!” Tobin grinned and fist bumped Ashlyn.

“Excuse me!” Hope shot them her bitch face.

Tobin and Ashlyn rolled their eyes and each held out a fist.

“You too dude.”

“That’s right me too.” Hope said confidently and bumped their firsts.

“Now that everyone is a grown up again, it’s GAME DAY!” Lauren shouted out of character causing everyone to laugh and grin.

“GAME DAY!” They all shouted and beamed when random students passing by joined in on the cheers.

 

The day seemed to drag for all the soccer players but the final bell finally rung to signal the end of the school day and it was time to prepare for the game.

The players all rushed to the gym and looked for the familiar paper to see the duties for the game.

Goal: Solo   
Defenders: Krieger, Broon, JJ, Kling   
Midfielders: Heath, Lloyd, Brian, O’Reilly   
Forwards: O’Hara, Press

Kelley read the list. In disbelief, she read it again. Then read it again.

By the time she had read the list a fifth time, she squealed and whipped around to find Hope only to have the taller girl already behind her.

Kelley jumped up and wrapped her legs around Hope’s waist.

“BABE DID YOU SEE, DID YOU SEE?! I’M STARTING! ME, KELLEY MAUREEN O’HARA, IS STARTING!” She yelled as she squeezed Hope harder.

“I saw and I’m so proud of you babe! I knew your time would come!” Hope smiled as she squeezed Kelley back.

Kelley got down and started to pace.

“I can’t believe I’m starting and at forward! Do you think I’ll do as good as last time? I mean I’m not expecting to score 3 goals again but hopefully at least one. What if I don’t do well? What if I do horribly and coach benches me forever. Omg I’m not ready. No, not going in. No way Jose. Nope. No. No. I-“

Hope shut her up with a kiss for a good minute before she pulled away.

“You were rambling.” Hope smirked at Kelley who still had her eyes closed.

Kelley opened her eyes and blushed then looked down at the ground and scuffed her foot on the floor.

“Sorry.” She mumbled.

Hope wrapped her arms around Kelley who buried into Hope’s neck.

“Don’t be sorry. You earned this starting spot and you are going to do amazing. Maybe you won’t score 3 goals. Maybe you will. Maybe you’ll score more. And maybe you won’t score at all, but you are going to do great. You’ve worked that cute ass off to get to this point and you’re getting the attention that you absolutely deserve. Now let’s get changed and head out. We have a game to win."

Hope concluded with a butt tap which caused Kelley to giggle and the two headed to the locker room to get changed.

After pulling the jersey over her head, Kelley took a second to sit in her locker and reflect.

_‘This is it O’Hara. You’re starting. You got this champ. Who am I? Kelley Maureen O’Hara. What am I going to do? Score some goals. Kell-ey! Kell-ey! Kell-ey!’_

Satisfied with her pep talk, Kelley stood up and headed to the field dragging Hope behind her.

“Yo squirrel! Congrats on the start! Are you ready to dominate?” Tobin called from the bench where she was talking to Alex.

“Oh you know it Tobs! Now get over here and do drills with me!”

Tobin smiled and grabbed a ball then turned to Alex and kissed her.

“I love you. Try not to miss me too much.”

“I always do. I love you too.”

Alex kissed Tobin a final time before the middy took off towards Kelley. When she was far enough away, Alex’s smile faltered a little bit.

She was trying, honestly she was. But the fact that she couldn’t be on the field and playing in one of the most important games of the season was killing her.

_‘Kelley deserves this but that should be me doing drills with Tobin.’_

 

Soon the Palace Vista players arrived and started to gather on the other end of the field to warm up.

Kelley sized up the players. Sure Palace Vista and Santa Monica High weren’t strangers, but it didn’t mean they weren’t any less intimidating.

She knew how they played. They had speed and they had some of the cleanest and sharpest footwork she has ever seen. It even rivaled Tobin’s footwork.

_‘Thank god Tobin plays for us.’_

And their team was tall. Kelley wasn’t sure there was a player under 5’8 except their number 16, who was still taller than Kelley’s 5’5 frame.

Coach Warner’s whistle broke Kelley from her thoughts as he signaled that it was game time.

Everyone filed into the locker room and gathered around Abby.

“Okay ladies listen up. We can do this! We’ve played PV plenty of times and we’ve beaten them a fair share of times. But just because we’ve beaten them in the past, doesn’t mean we are guaranteed the win based on the history. Do you know what will guarantee us the win? Our speed, our skill, our mentality, and our bond will get us the win. We are a family and our team chemistry is the best in the region. Hell it’s even the best in the state. So let’s go out there and get our berth to the final. As always, play smart and play sharp.”

Abby looked around the group huddled around her and smiled at the determination etched on everyone’s face.

“Okay hands in and Sharks on three.”

“One, Two, Three, SHARKS!”

Everyone cheered and lined up to go on the field.

After introductions of the line-up, everyone split to go into position.

“Go get em superstar!” Hope butt taped Kelley before running to goal.

Tobin ran to Alex on the bench quickly.

“Are you comfortable? Are you okay? I’m sorry you’re not out there and I’m going to miss you so much but this one is for you!”

Alex melted and leaned up to kiss Tobin.

“I’m fine. Be safe and I love you.”

Tobin grinned and snuck one more kiss before running to her position.

 

Palace Vista kicked off first and right away had a chance on goal but Hope knocked the ball away with a confident punch.

PV’s number 18 took the corner and their number 7 headed the ball just wide for a goal kick.

Hope yelled for her defense to get their shit together and kicked the ball down by midfield.

Carli headed it towards Heather who was streaking down the right side. Heather took it down just outside the penalty box and crossed it in to Tobin who back heel flicked it into goal.

And just like that, Santa Monica was up 1-0 in the 8th minute.

“Gooooal! Number 17, Tobiiiiiiin Heathhhhh! Assist by number 9, Heather O’Reillyyyy!”

Tobin flexed her muscles and turned towards the bench and winked at Alex.

“For you” She mouthed before being attacked by her teammates.

10 minutes later, Palace Vista answered with a goal of their own with a long range shot that was just out of reach of Hope’s outstretched hands.

The half ended 1-1 with a couple of missed chances by both teams and they started the second half.

A close call in the 64th minute due to a misclearance by JJ at the top of the box that luckily was kicked wide by the PV player seemed to be needed as a wakeup call for the Sharks.

Hope played it short to Broon, who took it to midfield and threaded the ball to Tobin.

Tobin took to the right of the box and pulled an elastico which earned her cheers and hollers from the bench and crowd and crossed it to Kelley who karate kicked the ball into the back of the net.

“Gooooal! Number 5, Kelleyyyy O’Hara! Assist by number 17, Tobin Heath!”

Kelley ran and jumped on Tobin who caught her and soon their teammates joined.

Palace Vista lined up to kick off and had 2 touches before Carli stripped the ball from the player and slammed the ball but it was too high and bounced off the crossbar. No defender had time to clear though because Kelley had already jumped up and headed the ball in for a rebound.

And there was goal number two for Kelley.

Palace Vista kicked off again and 3 minutes later the game ended.

As soon as the whistle blew, Hope took off and ran the whole field to get to Kelley and scooped her up.

“KELLEY! Look what you just did! You got the start AND played all 90 minutes AND scored 2 goals. I am so proud of you babe!”

Kelley beamed and burrowed her face in Hope’s neck.

The team made their rounds of ‘good game’ to the Palace Vista players before joining Coach Warner by the bench for cool down.

“I am so proud of you ladies! We are going back to the final!” Everyone whooped and hollered.

Tobin wandered over to Alex and laid on the bench with her head in Alex’s lap.

“Hey stud. Great goal and great assist!”

“I did it for you.” Tobin announced proudly.

“You’re too cute but it was for the team.”

“My assist to Kelley was for the team. That goal was purely for you. I missed playing with you.”

“I missed playing with you too, believe me. We got the win and Kelley did great. Plus I’ve been doing so well, maybe I’ll see the last 15 minutes of the final game.”

Tobin flashed a toothy smile before sitting up and stealing a kiss.

“Yo squirrel! Great game today!”

“Thanks Toby!” Kelley mumbled from Hope’s lap.

 

The girls were cooling down when a tall, well dressed middle aged man in aviators started to approach the group.

Everyone cocked their head in confusion as Coach Warner walked up to the man and shook his hand and chatted with him for a few minutes.

Soon the two men came over to the group and Coach Warner cleared his throat.

“Ladies, it is a pleasure to introduce to you Mr. Peters. Mr. Peters is a scout for the California Soccer Academy.”

Everyone was in shock at the new information.

California Soccer Academy is an elite soccer institution that is a sister company to The Olympic Development Program. It was a good chance to train and pretty much strut your stuff in front of coaches of all the youth national teams and the full senior national team.

A lot of players that have capped for The U.S. got their start at either at ODP or CSA.

Alex’s eyes widened and she felt like she was going to be sick.

There were rumors that after just one season of playing together, her and Tobin were being watched by the scouts of CSA.

The better they played together and the more they shined, the more the rumors circulated. Coach Warner always believed that if anyone were to get an invitation, it would be his star forward and star midfielder.

Then at the beginning of this season, Mr. Peters actually reached out to Coach Warner that he would be watching the girls throughout the season but not to mention it. He wanted to see the girls be themselves and see their raw talent.

_‘Fuck I wasn’t playing. Of course he’s fucking here the game that I don’t play in because of an injury. Okay, be cool Alex. If he has been watching, he knows how good I am and knows about the injury._ ’

Mr. Peters made his way around the group and talked with the players. He already saw their talent, now he wanted to get a feel of their personalities.

After spending a lot of time with Tobin, Mr. Peters made his way to Kelley and took her to the side.

“Ms. O’Hara, I must say that I am very impressed with you. I’ve been watching games throughout the season and you have been quite the break out star these past two games. Now I’m not promising anything because I need to see more games but if you’re this good now, I’m exciting to see you unlock your full potential.”

Kelley barely kept herself from passing out as she shook Mr. Peters’ hand and mumbled a thank you.

The older gentleman chuckled as he made his way over to Alex.

As soon as Alex saw him approaching, she started panic.

_‘Breathe Morgan. He knows how good you are if he has been watching. And if all else fails, charm him. You are a good talker.’_

Alex was trying to talk to herself down when she heard a throat clear and looked up.

“Hello Ms. Morgan, I’m Mr. Peters but you already know that.” The man smiled and held out his hand.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Alex felt her confidence coming back.

“Yes, I do and it’s a pleasure to meet you sir. You and the CSA are very well respected.” She smiled and shook his hand.

“Thank you. I’ve been watching the team for a while and I must say that I am very impressed, especially with you and Ms. Heath.”

Alex felt her confidence shoot to level 10 and smiled wider as she listened on.

“I see you have great potential Alex. However, watching you play means I saw you get injured.”

Suddenly she didn’t feel so confident anymore.

“Is it serious? I noticed you’re on crutches.”

“No, no not at all sir. It was just a sprain and I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow actually to see if I can get off them. I’ve been working extra hard to do everything right for a speedy and healthy recovery. Once I’m back, I have no doubt I will be back at full health and unlock a level of potential I don’t even know exists yet.” Alex tried to confidently convey to Mr. Peters to not lose faith.

_‘ONE day. Tomorrow I have my doctor’s appointment and this guy had to come ONE day before it. Terrible fucking luck._ ’

“I sure hope so Ms. Morgan. I would hate to break up the dream team of you and Ms. Heath. I’ll be in touch. Feel better.” He bid her goodbye and left to shake Coach Warner’s hand before leaving.

Alex willed herself not to cry and she tried to hold it together. But it was hard to do when she felt like she just lost the biggest opportunity for her future.

Kelley ran over to Alex as soon as she saw Mr. Peters leave her side. Too excited by her own news and wanting to talk to her best friend, she missed the dejected look that flashed on Alex’s face.

“Al what did he say about you?! He told me he saw great potential in me! Isn’t that great?! Here I thought I wasn’t up to par in my skills but I tried to keep faith and it paid off because look who complimented me. He wants to continue to watch me. How crazy is that that he was watching our team the whole time? Omg can you imagine all of us being in the program?! I mean I know you and Tobin are the dynamic duo, but could you imagine if Hope and I joined your force? How great to play with my girlfriend and my best friends in the most elite program in the state?!” Kelley was talking a mile a minute and it was getting to Alex.

“I get it Kell. You have great potential and you’ll get invited to the program and go off to become this great soccer star. Just don’t get injured because that apparently voids your potential.” Alex spit out with more bite than she meant to but couldn’t help it. She was hurt.

“Huh what? What is happening here? What happened?” Kelley was confused and honestly taken back by Alex’s attitude.

“Mr. Peter’s said if my foot heals anything less than 100 percent, he will break apart the dynamic duo and only take Tobin. God Kell, do you know how hard I worked to get noticed by the CSA? They could potentially be the final piece to really set me off in my career for soccer and one reckless challenge by a stupid player is putting everything I’ve worked for in jeopardy. Do you know that I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow to let me know if I can lose the crutches or not? ONE day was all I needed but Mr. Peter’s came today and saw me sit out on crutches.”

Alex wiped furiously at her eyes trying to keep the tears from spilling.

Kelley frowned and patted Alex on the shoulder.

“Hey now, you’re a great player. You know it, I know it, the whole school knows it, and Mr. Peter’s knows it. You’re not going to lose your opportunity because of some injury. It’s soccer; injuries happen and everyone knows that. You’ll get invited.”

Alex shrugged Kelley’s hand off and looked away.

“Easy for you to say. You’re playing and I’m not. I should have been up top. I should have been receiving Tobin’s balls and finding the back of the net. I shouldn’t be sidelined with an injury. I should be playing and starting.”

“Alex I’m sorry I-“Kelley tried but Alex cut her off.

“Don’t. I’m the one out injured and you’re the one playing. That’s why you got the praise. That’s why you got ‘the great potential’ good luck speech. That’s why you and Hope and Tobin are all going to be the next prodigies of CSA all because I couldn’t play!” Alex yelled as she walked away, missing the hurt spread across Kelley’s face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jealousy is not a good look on alex... or is it? I know I promised this chapter tempers were going to start to flair and I think it's a good start. Just wait til next chapter ;)


	6. Only A Matter Of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How much longer can Alex hold her tongue before the situation gets worse?

“Hot damn!” Tobin huffed out as she collapsed on the bed face down.

The two had just finished celebrating the win and advancing to the finals in their own private celebration.

Tobin melted further into the sheets hoping to calm down her rapidly beating heart.

_‘How does she move like that with an injured foot?!’_

Alex was sprawled on her back on the other side of Tobin trying to calm down her own ragged breathing as her chest heaved up and down.

_‘God that girl can work magic with more than just her feet.’_

They both laid in silence long after their breathing calmed down and their bodies stopped shaking. Tobin lifted her head just enough to look over at the clock and notice it was only 8:30. But with all the events of the day taking their toll, the midfielder decided right then and there she was okay with calling it an early night.

Mustering up every ounce of energy she had left, Tobin turned her head to face Alex and half crawled, half dragged herself over to the other girl. She placed her right leg in between Alex’s legs, wrapped her arm around her waist and dipped her hand behind her back, and rested her head on Alex’s chest.

“You’re big spoon tonight.” She mumbled as she nuzzled further into Alex.

Alex smiled and pulled the blanket over them before placing one arm behind her head and wrapped her other arm around Tobin.

“Only for tonight because you earned it superstar.” Alex whispered as she kissed the top of Tobin’s head and smiled when she heard Tobin’s breath even out not a second later.

Alex didn’t mind being the big spoon one bit because she absolutely loved it when Tobin would cuddle up to her. But if she was being honest, being the little spoon was her favorite.

She felt safe being surrounded by Tobin’s arms. Something about those toned and muscular arms wrapped around her waist bringing a sense of home wherever she was. The way the muscles contracted when Tobin flexed. Or the way they glistened with sweat after weight lifting.

_‘Don’t get me started on how secure they feel around my waist when she effortlessly lifts me up.’_

Okay she really needed to stop thinking about Tobin’s muscles otherwise she would end up working herself up again.

Alex sucked in a breath, clenched her jaw, and curled her toes until the urge passed and she could relax her body again.

Tired enough to have no energy to move but not tired enough for sleep; Alex closed her eyes and drew circles on Tobin’s exposed bare back.

She traced along all the defined ridges of Tobin’s back for a few quiet minutes before the day’s events started to creep into her mind. She thought about the game and the slightest smile crept on her face when she thought about her team going back to the final.

It takes about an hour of nothing but Tobin’s steady breaths and silence for Alex’s thoughts to turn on again and remembered how she acted after the game.

‘Kelley.’

Alex felt guilty for how she treated Kelley. She said a bunch of mean things to her that she didn’t really mean. Sure she was upset that she couldn’t play, but that didn’t give her a right to yell at her; they were best friends after all.

She watched Tobin, who had rolled off her chest but still pressed herself against Alex, for a few moments before gently nudging her.

“Tobs? Pssst. Tobs. Wake up.” She whispered.

Tobin shifted in her sleep but stayed quiet.

“Tobin, wake up.” She nudged her again trying to coax her out of sleep.

“Hmm?” Tobin murmured as she started to leave dreamland.

“I can’t sleep.” Alex spoke a little louder in hopes to keep Tobin awake.

Without opening her eyes, Tobin rolled over away from Alex.

“Babe, as much as it pains me to say no to you, can we please wait to have sex until the morning? Between the game, the car, the shower, and round 3 in the bed, I’m exhausted.”

Alex rolled her eyes.

“Yes we can but that’s not what I want. I yelled at Kelley after the game today and I feel bad because she’s upset with me.”

Tobin turned back towards Alex on her side and slung an arm low on Alex’s waist.

“It’s Kelley. She probably knows you didn’t mean it and forgot about it by now.”

“I don’t know. I was kind of a jerk.” Alex sighed as she ran a hand through Tobin’s hair.

Tobin leaned up and kissed Alex’s jaw. “Babe, I’m sure she’s fine but talk to her about it you’re so worried.”

“I guess you’re right.” Alex sighed again.

“Course I am. Can I go back to sleep now?” Tobin pleaded.

“Yes you can. Need your rest for the morning.” She smirked and Tobin didn’t need to open her eyes to know she was and turned over and fell back asleep.

Alex’s mind wouldn’t shut off so she carefully grabbed her phone from the bedside table. It was only 10:47 so she figured Kelley would still be up.

**Alex:** Hey Kell, I’m sorry about after the game earlier. I didn’t mean to yell or say those mean things to you. I was frustrated that I couldn’t play and that the CSA scout came when I was injured. I know there is no excuse but I needed to say I’m sorry because I wasn’t being a good best friend. Hope you’re not mad at me. Love ya.

Her phone vibrated 3 minutes later and Alex held her breathe before reading the reply. When Kelley was mad, she would either make the offender sweat it out for a few hours or reply fast going off on a huge tangent. You never know which extreme you would get if you crossed her.

**Squirrel Emperor:** It’s okay Al. I know you’re hurt and it sucks but it hurt more to hear you yell at me like that. I can’t stay mad at you so all is well. Love ya back!

Alex smiled at the screen relieved that Kelley wasn’t mad. She put the phone back down and wrapped her left arm around Tobin’s waist and dragged her closer and buried her face in the back of her neck.

 

The next morning, Hope was eating her cereal when her phone vibrated next to her. She rolled her eyes when she read the screen.

**Personal Sex Slave: New Message**

_‘I need to stop letting her have my phone.’_

Hope opened the message and smiled down at the screen.

**Personal Sex Slave:** Babe I’m sorry I pushed you away yesterday and I’m even sorrier that I didn’t let you sleep over because I slept TERRIBLY last night. Will you still pick me up for school today? I love you  <3

She quickly changed Kelley’s name in her phone…again… before she replied.

**Hope:** Of course I’ll still pick you up. Do you really think I trust public transportation to deliver my precious package safely? My sleep was horrible last night too because my blankets aren’t nearly as warm as you :(

**My World <3:** If you didn’t just melt my heart with cuteness overload I would totally make fun of you for being a complete sap. See you in 15?

**Hope:** How can you give me a compliment and insult me in the same sentence? Yes see you in 15. I love you babe!

**My World <3:** It’s a gift. See you soon! I love you too :)

She went to finish getting ready and hopped in her car to pick up Kelley. When she arrived at the house, she sent a quick text to Kelley saying that she was here before staring down at Kelley’s contact name.

_'My World <3'_

That’s when it hit her.

_‘Kelley Maureen O’Hara has softened and whipped me, Hope Amelia Solo.’_

It couldn’t have been more truthful. Everyone that crossed paths with the goalkeeper thanked the higher power looks couldn’t kill. Even her friends and teammates were afraid of her bitch face… well everyone except Kelley and Carli. Carli was a whole species all her own. That girl straight up bitch slapped a mugger in the face when they tried to take her purse when they were in downtown once.

Hope smiled to herself.

_‘Carli has no time for people’s bullshit. That’s why she’s my best friend.’_

But even the great Carli Lloyd wasn’t allowed to see certain sides of Hope. They were sides only Kelley got to see.

Sides like Hope knowing how to cook because she religiously watches the Food Network while making extra mental notes of chicken dishes because it’s Kelley’s favorite type of meat even though Hope herself prefers red meat.

Sides like seeing a romance movie and rubs her eyes pretending she’s tired and the movie is cliché and boring when in reality she is wiping the tears that are threatening to fall at the sappy parts of the movie.

Sides like giving someone a shoulder squeeze and a feel better when they are sick or hurt. But god forbid Kelley is sick or hurt and Hope might as well trade in her soccer uniform for a nurse uniform.

So wrapped in her thoughts, Hope didn’t realize Kelley had come out and jumped when the passenger door slammed shut.

“What’s got you so deep in thought?” Kelley raised her eyebrow.

“You.” Hope simply responded before leaning over and kissing Kelley short but passionately.

She pulled away slightly and smirked at Kelley.

“So personal sex slave huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kelley smiled innocently.

Hope rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the corners of her mouth from turning upwards before grabbing Kelley’s hand and driving towards school.

“When did you even change that? And why?” Hope broke the silence a few minutes later.

“Before the game and now we match!” Kelley exclaimed before showing Hope her phone when they stopped at a red light.

Hope peered over and read her contact name in Kelley’s phone.

Sex Master<3

Complete with the heart eyes emoji and fire emoji.

“Kelley what even?!” Hope laughed and shook her head.

“What?!” It’s not like it’s a lie or anything.”

“What am I going to do with you?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Hope knew she walked right into the punchline of a smart remark she knew Kelley was going to make.

“Whatever you say or want master.” Kelley managed to get out before bursting into laughter and Hope rolled her eyes.

“Okay I walked into that one I’ll give you that, but joke’s on you because we don’t match anymore. I changed it this morning.”

Kelley’s eyes got wide before pouting.

“Babeeee. You’re no fun! What did you even change it to?”

“Nothing.” Hope shrugged as she pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car to run to Kelley’s side to open her door.

“Tell me!”

“No!”

Once out of the car, Kelley wrapped her arms around Hope’s neck and Eskimo kissed her.

“Please?”

“Nope.”

Kelley leaned in and nipped her neck.

“Please.”

“N-n-no.” Hope stuttered.

She kept sucking on her pulse point causing Hope to moan and push Kelley up against the side of the car. With Hope distracted, Kelley grabbed the phone out of the front pocket and moved to look at the screen.

“HEY!” Hope shrieked and tried to grab the phone but was too late.

“My World? Omg Hopeeee.” Kelley grinned toothily and flung herself into Hope. “You’re the absolute cutest and sweetest!”

Hope scrunched her nose but wrapped her arms around Kelley.

“I’m not cute.”

Kelley giggled and let go of Hope to reach for her own phone.

“Yes you are. You’re also funny and caring, and sexy, and the one for me. There!” Kelley replied and showed Hope her phone.

Hopey Bear <3

With a heart eyes emoji to follow.

Hope rolled her eyes but didn’t fight the smile that broke onto her face when the first bell rang.

“Let’s go before we’re late babe.”

Hope grabbed their bags from the backseat and locked up the car and grabbed Kelley’s outreached hand.

“Let’s go Hopey Bear!” Kelley yelled as she tugged Hope to the door.

 

“To what do I owe the pleasure of you coming into my classroom Ms. Heath?” Mr. Sampson’s voice sounded through the room breaking Alex from her conversation with Sydney.

“Here to pick up the girlfriend and escort her to lunch Samps.” Tobin’s smooth voice sounded back causing Alex to smile shyly.

“Very Well. You can go stand over by her desk and Tobin? I told you not to call me that.” Mr. Sampson tried and failed to keep the smile out of his voice.

“Aye, aye sir!” Tobin saluted before strolling over to Alex’s desk.

Alex smiled as Tobin leaned down for a kiss and then sat on her desk.

“Hello beautiful. Hey Syd.” She greeted the girls as she grabbed for Alex’s hand.

“How are you here before the bell?” Sydney asked incredulously.

“No can resist the Heath Charm. I told you this already.” Tobin smirked.

“Just how charming were you to Ms. Anderson so she now allows you to come early for me?” Alex cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

“Because I actually give a shit in her class and get straight A’s. And I’ve already told you. These pants only come off for one person.” Tobin smiled goofily as she pointed to her zipper then to Alex.

Alex blushed and leaned up to kiss Tobin in response.

The bell rang a second later and all the students stood.

“Thank god! I can’t sit here and watch this anymore.” Sydney piped in as she headed towards the door.

“See you in 5 minutes for an encore at lunch!” Tobin shouted before grabbing both her bag and Alex’s and letting Alex walk first. “After you ma lady.”

The two made their way towards the cafeteria and stopped at the entrance of East Hall to wait for Hope, Kelley, and Carli since Tobin picked up Alex early from class.

A boy named Carter Robbins who was captain of the boy’s team and really good friends with Tobin, was making his way down the main corridor when he saw Tobin and Alex leaning against a row of lockers and changed his path.

He weaved through the students and finally approached Tobin to do their master handshake.

“Yo is there anything you can’t do on a soccer field? Sick moves Heath!”

“What can I say Robbins? I’m gifted.”

“You really are because your footwork is da bomb! Sup Alex?”

“You’re such a dork you know that?” “Hey Carter.” They simultaneously answered.

“Whatever! Anyway, on behalf of the boys, I want to say congratulations and we will see you all tonight at Syd’s for the celebrations. Later!” Carter hugged Alex and bro hugged Tobin before disappearing into the crowd again.

Shortly after, Carli came into view with Hope and Kelley to the right of her. They all high fived and made their way to the cafeteria.

“Yo Tobs! Gnarly goal yesterday!”

“Tobin you owned PV last night! Get em!”

“Kelley what the hell was that last night? Mind blown!”

“Karate goal was my favorite. Slay them Kells!”

Various students kept complimenting the group as they walked to lunch. Tobin just fist bumped and smiled like it was nothing and continued to talk to Alex.

Kelley on the other hand smiled brightly at the compliments. Sure Kelley was well liked by pretty much the entire school, but this was new. Usually it was Tobin or Alex and sometimes on occasion Hope getting praises.

_‘Wow, this is amazing! I know I’m good but it feels great to be complimented!’_

Kelley couldn’t wipe the smile off her face while Alex held a tight lip smile.

_‘Ugh, I need to get off these crutches and play again.’_

As the group joined everyone else at their table, a group of students slowed their pace as they passed the table.

“Yo Kells, you played insanely good yesterday. Your partnership with Tobin was on point. Way to go girl!”

“Yeah dude, shit was dope!”

Kelley smiled and thanked the people as they continued on to their way. Alex tried to ignore everything as she dug into her lunch.

Kelley shifted closer to Hope and started munching on her sandwich while everyone either stayed quiet or absorbed in side conversations.

Tobin tugged Alex’s chair closer to her and nuzzled her nose against Alex’s neck.

“I don’t want you to leave early.” Tobin mumbled against the velvety skin.

Alex could actually feel Tobin’s pout against her neck and although she didn’t like an upset Tobin one bit, she couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face.

“You’re cute. I promise you’ll be fine until I come over at 5 o’clock today.” Alex whispered as she squeezed her thigh.

“But that’s soooo far away!” Tobin whined a little too loud.

Pinoe grabbed one of her French Fries and threw it at Tobin. “Okay that’s enough drama queen. It’s only 5 hours.” She chastised causing the group to snicker while Tobin pouted some more.

The group settled down as they broke off into their own conversations.

5 minutes before the bell signaled the end of lunch, Alex’s phone went off with a text from Jerri saying she was outside to take her to her doctor’s appointment. After a long and over dramatic goodbye that actually lasted until the lunch bell rang, Lauren and Amy pried them apart and waving goodbye to Alex before dragging Tobin off too class.

 

Later that night, Tobin and Alex pulled up to Sydney’s house the same time as Hope and Kelley.

The four of them headed up the paved sidewalk and walked through the double French Doors and into the already raging party.

Tobin and Hope headed to the kitchen for drinks while Alex and Kelley found Sydney, Pinoe, and HAO in the living room. The girls were engrossed in a conversation when Tobin and Hope came back and handed drinks over before mingling their way into to conversation.

“Yo Heath! Come get your ass kicked in beer pong against me and Jordan!” Carter screamed from the beer pong table.

“Do you really want to embarrass yourself in front of everyone Robbins? Everyone knows I’m better than you at everything bro.” Tobin smirked.

“Put up or Shut Up Tobs!” Carter challenged with a smile in his voice.

Tobin bowed and turned to Alex.

“Babe?”

“Sorry Babe but you know I’m not that good and I am NOT going to be the blame if you lose.”

“Wow, no faith! Fine, let’s go squirrel!”

Kelley saluted Tobin and followed her to the table. Hope and Alex decided to follow and watch the game much like 80% of the people in the room.

The boys started since they were champions of the last game. Carter shot first and the ball fell straight into the bottom of the cup. Jordan shot and while his hit the rim of a cup, it ricocheted into another cup thus giving the boys a roll back.

Carter flexed his muscles causing Tobin to roll her eyes as her and Kelley rolled the balls back to them.

Carter and Jordan both made another cup and Tobin started to sweat.

Carter made an obvious show to bounce the ball to direct Tobin’s attention away from Jordan who was going to bounce on the sly. Tobin took the bait and with all her attention on swatting Carter’s Ball, Jordan bounced his ball from the side. However, Kelley read the move and swatted Jordan’s ball away just before it entered the cup.

Their girlfriends along with the crowd erupted in cheers at the teamwork of the girls who fist bumped and smirked at the slack jawed boys.

“Oh! So close!” Tobin taunted as she handed a ball to Kelley and went to line up her shot.

Both girls matched the boys and made a cup each and got their roll back but didn’t meet the same fate as the boys and made their cups again.

“GET ‘EM TOBS!” “TAKE THEM DOWN KELLS!” Alex and Hope yelled simultaneously above the roaring crowd.

Suddenly Carter and Jordan found themselves behind as Tobin and Kelley cleared 7 out of 10 cups. Tobin popped the collar of her button up and smirked at the boys as she stepped up to take her shot.

Instead of looking at the cups, Tobin stared straight at Carter as she threw and grinned a toothy smile as she watched his eyes widen in shock confirm the crowd’s cheers that she had made their 8th cup without looking gaining yet another roll back.

Kelley stepped up and pretended to shoot a couple of times to line up her shot before releasing the ball. She watched it hit the rim before bouncing off the table.

“FUCK! DAMNIT!” Kelley yelled in frustration knowing she could have won them the game.

“It’s okay dude. We only have two cups and they have 6. We can do this.” Tobin clapped Kelley’s back in support.

“It’s okay babe! You’re doing great!” Hope yelled causing Kelley to smile wide and wink at Hope.

Tobin shot her ball but didn’t like the throw as soon as it left her fingers. The ball did go in the cup but it spun around the top and Carter easily flicked it out.

“You got lucky and you’re going down next round!” Alex yelled from the side of the table causing Tobin to look over and wink at the competiveness in her girlfriend even though she wasn’t playing.

Like the first round, both boys made a cup but didn’t celebrate just yet because they still had 4 cups to clear and didn’t want to jinx it. Carter missed his shot and cursed but high fived Jordan when he made his cup.

_‘If we can keep them from banking the last 2 cups, Jordan and I got this!’_ Carter thought to himself as he rolled the balls to Tobin and Kelley.

Tobin stared at the table for a second before wrapping and arm around Kelley’s shoulders and turning away from the boys for a second yelling ‘Team Meeting!’

“Okay Kels we can do this. Remember that party last month we went the entire night undefeated? We are the beer pong champs! Here’s the plan…”

Kelley listened to the rest of the plan and smirked before tapping Tobin’s abs with her palm and turning back to the boys.

Tobin stepped forward to line up her shot and Kelley stood just behind and to the right of her. She shot Kelley a quick side glance but kept her poker face and looked forward and bounced the ball rather quickly and aggressively.

With both boys watching Tobin’s ball, Kelley stepped quickly from behind Tobin and threw the ball straight into Jordan’s cup of beer he was holding.

“GAMEEEEEEEEE!” Kelley shouted and jumped onto Tobin’s back.

The crowd went wild but no one was as loud as Alex and Hope.

“AND THAT’S HOW IT’S DONE BOYS!” Tobin whopped as she bounced her and Kelley up and down.

“HOW?!” Jordan asked baffled as he stared at the neon orange pong ball floating at the bottom of his cup.

“Dude I told you to claw your drink at all times!” Carter yelled.

Kelley jumped off Tobin and they made their way over to the boys.

“Distract with my shot and Kelley coming in for the kill? C’mon man, you fell right into our trap! I thought I taught you better than that.” Tobin laughed as she bro hugged Carter and high fived Jordan.

“I can’t believe it. Lucky shot O’Hara. Well played ladies.”

“It was all skill Robbins but good game.” Kelley giggled as she hugged Carter and Jordan.

“You girls work well together and your dynamic is on point! First the soccer field and now on the beer pong table. Kind of scary to think what else you two can dominate at.” Jordan laughed as he raised his voice over the cheering crowd.

“Best friends since diapers will do that to you.” Kelley smiled as she threw an arm over Tobin’s shoulders.

“Speaking of soccer, Kelley you’re really showing on the field. Coming off the bench and having 5 goals in 2 games under your belt? That’s impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised if Coach starts you every game from now on.” Carter chimed in.

Alex happened to hear the exchange and as innocent as it was, she couldn’t help the slight frown from forming on her lips.

_‘Yeah but her starting spot means mine gets taken away.’_

She tried to shake the negative thoughts away because this was her best friend they were talking about. She should be happy that she is finally getting the glory that she deserves because Kelley is a good soccer player. But Alex was a good soccer player too.

Kelley felt the blush creep up her neck as she ran a hand through her hair.

“Thanks guys, I appreciate that but I don’t know. Alex is off crutches now and technically my starting spot is hers. Once she is at full health she’ll be back starting and I’ll probably be back on the bench but that’s alright. I’m glad I finally got to show off what I can do!” Kelley smiled despite feeling her stomach lurch a little bit at the thought of being a bench warmer again.

Alex felt a little guilty as she heard the hidden disappointment in Kelley’s voice until the next part of the conversation.

“I don’t know about that. Coach Warner probably won’t ice you while you’re red hot right now. No disrespect to Alex, yeah she is off crutches now, she still has to protect that ankle so she doesn’t cause further damage.” Jordan added.

From guilt to silent anger in a matter of a minute, it took every ounce of self-control not to add her two cents to their conversation.

“I agree with Jordan about coach not icing you. He’ll probably move you back to defense or try you in midfield since he’s not afraid to try players in different positions. Could you imagine us AND Alex all at once? Man I feel bad for whoever plays us.” Tobin explained excitedly.

Alex smiled and relaxed a little at Tobin’s words and tuned back into Syd and Pinoe.

“Well everyone and their mothers know how well Tobin and Alex work on the field and we are starting to see how well you two work on the field. It will be interesting to see what the coach does. Anyway, we’re going to go catch up with some of own teammates, we’ll catch y’all later.”

Carter and Jordan disappeared into the crowd and the girls turned their attention to their girls who were talking with Sydney and Pinoe.

Tobin wrapped her arms around Alex from behind and propped her chin on her shoulder causing Alex to smile and lean into her when she felt Tobin behind her. Kelley wiggled her way under Hope’s arm and snuggled into her side as Hope wordlessly wrapped her arm around Kelley’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to her head.

After talking for a little bit, Sydney and Pinoe noticed Kling and HAO having a mini dance battle and broke away to challenge them. Kelley and Alex looked at the dance floor and turned to Hope and Tobin with pleading eyes and of course they gave in.

The two couples moved to the dance floor away from the dance battle to have their own dance party. Hope and Tobin slid behind Alex and Kelley and started dancing moving to the rhythm of the upbeat music.

Alex tuned out her sour thoughts from earlier and tuned into movements of Tobin and pressed into her a little harder.

Things started to heat up a couple songs in. Hope’s hands were deep in Kelley’s back jean pockets while Kelley had her lips attached to Hope’s neck. Tobin and Alex somehow drifted away from the other two. Tobin had Alex pressed against a wall, one hand flat on the wall slightly above Alex’s head, the other gripped Alex’s hip while Alex had her thumbs through Tobin’s belt loops and the other fingers hooked inside her waistband.

HAO looked at Kling. Kling looked at HAO. They both saluted each other before grabbing a water bottle each and breaking apart; Kling towards Hope and Kelley, HAO towards Alex and Tobin.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” “AHHHH!” The four girls screamed simultaneously followed by their teammates’ boisterous laughter.

“Sorry! You needed to cool down so we did it with water before you did it with your clothes!” HAO laughed as she pointed to Tobin’s button up that had a lot less buttons buttoned and Kelley’s tank top pushed up to look like crop top.

All four girls turned cherry red as Tobin started to hastily button her buttons and Kelley was yanking down and smoothing out her tank top. They decided to tone it down and chill on the leather sectional in the game room joining some of their teammates and some boys from the boy’s team in watching a replay of the Real Madrid/Barcelona game.

Tobin pulled Alex into her lap before striking up conversation with Lauren and Amy while Hope chatted with Carli while Kelley snuggled into her side.

Suddenly a couple of people that were watching the game started cheering and caught the attention of everyone in the room. Benzema had nutmegged Pique to send the ball to Bale who crossed the ball in the box to Ronaldo who did a volley similar to Kelley’s karate kick goal from the game the night before.

Everyone cheered as the ball hit the back of the net and Andrew from the boy’s team started to yell.

“Hell yeah Ronaldo! Yo that looked similar to Kelley’s goal last night! Yeah Kells! Famous athletes are doing the same moves as you!”

“We need to see more moves like that! Hey when you score can you mimic Cristiano’s superman celebration?! That would be awesome!” Another boy shouted.

Kelley just blushed and curled further into Hope’s side. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Everyone cheered again and turned back to either the game or their conversations. Alex just sat there with a tight lipped expression.

Alex was getting annoyed. She was annoyed at the constant compliments to Kelley that were a constant reminder that Kelley was playing and not her. She was annoyed at Kelley for being so humble about everything and not throwing it in Alex’s face that she couldn’t play which made her annoyance and jealousy even more uncalled for. Finally she was annoyed at herself. Kelley was her best friend and she should be supportive of her just like how Kelley is supportive of Alex.

Alex got up off Tobin’s lap and cleared her throat.

“Tobs, can we go home?” Alex asked in a small voice.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Tobin immediately stood up with concern etched across her face.

“I’m fine, I just want to go home. Can we please go home?” Alex pleaded.

Tobin nodded and started to bid goodbye to Lauren and Amy as Kelley stood up as well.

“Alex, you sure you’re okay?” Kelley asked carefully.

_‘No. I have to sit here injured and watch you shine in MY spot. You get to play. You get to score goals. You and my girlfriend are the new dynamic duo that the school can’t seem to get enough of. And worst part is you’re not even throwing it in my face! Why aren’t you throwing it in my face?! I’d rather you gloat that you’re playing and shining! Then these feelings wouldn’t feel so wrong!’_

Alex wanted to say but she bit her tongue. She already had an outburst once and Kelley forgave her quicker than cooking a 2 minute hot pocket in the microwave. She didn’t want to say something she would regret.

“Yeah Kells, just tired.” Alex spoke with less edge in her voice.

It wasn’t like she was lying to Kelley because she really was tired. She was tired of feeling guilty of her feelings. She was tired of feeling jealous of Kelley. She was tired of listening to her friends and peers unintentionally and unknowingly throw it in her face that she isn’t playing. She was tired of feeling selfish. Alex really just wanted to go to sleep and wake up when she was fully better and she was right back on the field playing.

Tobin stood up to hug Kelley and then wrapped an arm around Alex’s waist.

“Well goodnight then everyone. Gotta take boo thang home to sleep otherwise she’ll be cranky.” Tobin smiled cheekily causing everyone to giggle. Alex even cracked a small smile despite herself.

“Don’t ever say that again Tobin.” Hope rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the amusement out of her voice.

“Whatever Solo.” Tobin fist pumped the keeper and led Alex out the door.

Everyone went back to what they were doing. Kelley sat next to Hope again and turned sideways toward her.

“That was weird right?” Kelley asked.

“Nah I don’t think so. I mean it is 2 in the morning.” Hope replied looking at her phone.

“Yeah but Alex got tired out of nowhere? It just seems off.”

“She probably said that to get Tobin to leave so they can have private time which actually… why are we still here? Ready to go?” Hope stood up and offered her hand to help Kelley up who hesitated but gave in and took Hope’s hand and stood up as well.

They said their goodbyes too and rolled their eyes at Pinoe who swiveled her hips at the couple as they were leaving.

_‘I need to talk to Alex and find out what’s bothering her. Something is up.’_

But there was no more time tonight for that as Hope’s hand slid higher up her thigh as they drove off towards Kelley’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well the ground work is set! The story isn't over but next chapter is a lot of finals. It's the final game of the tournament and it just may be the final attempt at staying quiet... 
> 
> PS. How am I doing with keeping our beloved squirrel humble and not power hungry?


	7. Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally going well. It'd be a shame if something ruined that...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost I want to say thank you so much for all the comments and love and everything. I appreciate it all greatly! :)
> 
> I fought with myself on this chapter. I was torn between making two chapters and not really rushing the time line and just putting it all in one. I couldn't really find a good cut off point so its a little choppy and all in one chapter. So its super long and trying to move the story along and I'm sorry lol. Hope you still enjoy!

Kelley woke up the next morning sore all over and branded by Hope’s lips all along her neck and chest. She placed a light kiss on Hope’s lips before sliding out of bed to make the both of them coffee.

She momentarily forgot about Alex in her whirlwind of flying clothes, whispered moans, and shaking limbs. Now its hours later and the thoughts are back that there is something wrong with her best friend that her best friend is not telling her.

Kelley mulls over it while the coffee brews and doesn’t hear Hope come in and startles a little when there are two strong arms encircling her.

“Morning,” is all she says which alerts Hope about her troubled girlfriend.

“Want to talk about it?”

Kelley shakes her no at first but then remembers the last time she shut out Hope which left her in a big bed alone shivering despite being trapped by 3 blankets.

She grabs one of Hope’s arms and pulls her to sit on the stool next to her and waits for Hope to situate herself.

“Something is up with Alex and I’m bothered she won’t talk to me about it.”

Hope grabs Kelley’s hand and starts playing with the ring she gave her on their 1st year anniversary.

“She’s upset because she’s not playing and worried about recovering fast enough to play the last 15 minutes in the final. Don’t take it personally, she is just on edge. I would be too.”

Kelley listens to Hope’s words and is offended at first by the admission, believing that the forward opted to talk to the keeper instead of her. But then she realizes that Hope is an observant person, even more observant than Kelley herself. So she surprises both herself and Hope and lets it go because what Hope said makes sense. Alex is simply upset and there is no deeper meaning. The forward just wants to play; at least that’s what Kelley concluded.

It’s obviously what is troubling the young forward and even someone as oblivious as poor Tobin could see it. She reprimands her usual observant self for not noticing it and feels slightly embarrassed.

Of course Hope notices Kelley is embarrassed by the way she adverts her eyes to her right hand that taps the counter top with her nails instead of just her fingers; Kelley’s tell of being embarrassed.

When Kelley is just hyper, she taps a drum solo with her fingers. When Kelley is embarrassed, the rapid tapping of nails makes a distinct sound that takes Kelley’s attention away from the embarrassing scenario. It makes her focus in on the tapping, effectively zoning her out until the feeling has passed and she is over it. It never lasts long because Kelley rarely gets embarrassed.

But Hope only needs to see something twice to understand something more than just its face value. She quickly learns it’s a coping mechanism instead of a quirky habit like everyone else believes it to be.

The first time it happened, Kelley ripped her pants at lunch and her underwear was showing and the whole table laughed including Kelley. Kelley started her tapping as her laughter started to trail off waiting for the bell to ring so she could change into soccer shorts. Hope thought it was comical because with Kelley’s nickname of squirrel for her love of the fury rodent, the tapping sounded a lot like a squirrel banging on a nut to open and eat it. She didn’t think anything of it.

The second time was different. It’s a known fact Kelley takes pride in her grades and the respect she gets from teachers because of them. One time in their sophomore English class, Kelley caught her teacher on a bad day. He mistook Kelley asking Hope for a pen when hers ran out of ink as being disruptive and yelled at her in the middle of the lesson. “I don’t care if you have an A in my class Ms. O’Hara. I have no problem throwing you out of here if you disrupt my class again.” Kelley hated to be yelled at in general, but in front of other people? It was the worst. She just mumbled a ‘yes sir’ and looked down at her paper and started her tapping routine. That’s when Hope figured out the tapping was a way of coping with embarrassment as opposed to being overly hyper.

Hope reached over and covered Kelley’s rapidly moving hand to still it.

“Hey it’s okay. You’re just really worried about your best friend and there is nothing wrong with that.” Hope says softly in hopes to get Kelley to look at her.

She is rewarded with a shy smile and shining hazel eyes and offers Kelley a gentle a smile in return.

 

A week has passed and things are going great for the team. The team fell into a repetitive routine that consisted of wake up, go to school, go to practice, recover, dinner, and go to bed.

The text book routine paid off immensely when everything on the field with the team proved to be precise, clean, and cohesive. Strengths are being highlighted and weakness are embraced and adjusted to fit the flow of the new aura of the team.

Everyone was playing as one unit and you would never know that these girls were fighting for a starting spot amongst each other with every carefree laugh and every honest smile of encouragement. She is connecting better with Tobin. Actually, Kelley is connecting better with everyone on the field and she sees the look of approval gleam in her coach’s eye and a beaming smile even from the other side of the field.

Alex is even doing light training with the team every day and has a little bounce in her step and a permanent hopeful smile. She is no longer acting weird or different towards Kelley and she is back to old Alex.

She swears she can feel whatever invisible weight plagued her and Alex’s friendship has lifted and disappeared. Kelley feels better because Alex feels better.

Kelley gets a text later that night while she is having a movie night with Hope.

 **Partner In Crime:** The doctor cleared me to play!

She doesn’t know how she feels as she stares at the message.

_‘I’m happy Alex can finally play the game she loves almost as much as she loves Tobin. But what if coach benches me because she’s back? Of course everything has been going great and this happens a day before the game. But just because she is cleared doesn’t mean she’ll start. Coach is smart enough to not rush her comeback. I’ve proven myself I deserve a spot on this roster whether it be a starter or a sub.’_

Hope notices Kelley go rigid and taps her thigh.

“What’s up?” Hope’s voice breaks Kelley out of her thoughts.

Kelley thinks about the past week of practices and ultimately decides she’s exhausted herself enough with worry and self-doubt. She’s starting to feel the confidence in herself that Hope feels for her.

 **Kelley:** That's awesome Al! Told ya you would be back before ya know it ;P

“Alex is cleared to play by her doctor. Hopefully she’ll get to see some minutes towards the end of the game.” Kelley says with a smile before turning back to their movie.

Hope is apprehensive of the statement for a minute before a smile spreads across her face.

_‘She said that with so much confidence and conviction. Maybe Kell finally sees what I see. Alex or no Alex, Kelley is fantastic player whose spot on the roster is not in jeopardy.’_

Hope tugged Kelley closer as she relaxed further into the couch content with the peace before the big game tomorrow.

 

There was one day the students and faculty of Santa Monica High School loved more than game day and that was Championship game day. Championship game day seemed to bring out the spirit in everyone, including the quiet and seemingly unattached and uncaring students. Sports at this school did that to the students, especially soccer.

The gals walked into the school dressed to the nines because it was championship game day and wanted to look extra sharp and instantly grinned at one another as they took in the decorated school and high fived or fist bumped every hand that was held out to them.

Every single person was decked out in the extremely identifiable silver and blue colors to show support. Posters saying good luck hung on the walls of the various halls while silver and blue streamers hung from each classroom door.

Then you had The Great Whites. They were a group of students who supported both the boys’ and girls’ teams religiously and went to every single game. A group so dedicated to championship game day, they painted their entire bodies with body paint. Half of them were all silver while the other half were all blue.

Tobin turned a deep shade of red from blushing but smiled a bright white smile at a group of students who wore shirts with the number 17 on them and bowed down yelling “we’re not worthy” as she walked down the hall.

_‘Today is going to be a great day.’_

First 2 classes went by as normal but now Tobin was in her third class and it felt like an eternity. She had to force herself to stop looking at the clock but couldn’t help glancing up at it every so often.

She peeked over at Alex who was reading and her eyes traveled over the features of her girlfriend. Her silky hair was brushed over one shoulder and cascaded down in beautiful waves. Her bright blue blouse made her blue eyes pop even more and matched Tobin’s bow tie perfectly which made her blush. She wore a black pencil skirt that hit just above her knees which showed off her tanned and toned legs that went on for days that were crossed in a dainty way. Finally a simple pair of flats tied everything together because she knew her feet would hurt and she couldn’t have that if she did see minutes tonight.

_‘Damn she’s beautiful.’_

Tobin suddenly felt hot and she had to tear her eyes away from her girlfriend before she did something she regretted. She squeezed her legs together and started to doodle to try to distract her wandering mind.

The bell rang ending the class and Tobin sighed in relief and shot out of her seat and out the classroom without saying goodbye to Alex.

Alex just blinked a few times at the door where her girlfriend had bolted through before pouting.

_‘Goodbye to you too babe.’_

Alex gathered her stuff and slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out the door.

Halfway to class, just as she was passing the staircase that lead to the upper level, someone grabbed Alex from behind and put a hand over her mouth before she could make any noise and tucked under the staircase hidden from view.

The person removed their hand but Alex didn’t have time to protest before their hands dipped under her skirt to grab the back of Alex’s thighs to lift her from the ground and press her against the wall and attacked her lips in a searing kiss.

Immediately recognizing the assailant being Tobin, she wrapped her arms around her neck while Tobin cupped Alex’s ass and squeezed.

The two kissed until breathing was a problem and Tobin pulled back to trail her nose along Alex’s jawline and kiss her neck.

“Did you really think I would leave without saying goodbye?” She murmured.

“I-I- Fuck I don’t know what I think.” Alex stuttered as Tobin sucked harder on her pulse point.

“I started thinking about you in class.” Tobin husked.

It took every ounce of strength Alex had to push against Tobin’s chest and stop her attack.

“Babe, I’m not on crutches anymore and cleared to play so you are going to get in trouble for being late.”

Tobin let Alex down but gripped her hips and rubbed her thumbs against Alex’s hip bones and smiled mischievously.

“Ms. Anderson doesn’t know that so I still have my note.”

Alex closed her eyes and tried to ignore the burning sensation of Tobin’s touch.

“But I don’t have a note.” She muttered through clenched teeth but didn’t move her hands from Tobin’s neck.

Tobin smirked and dipped her hands under Alex’s blouse to trace her abs as she stared into Alex’s noticeably darker eyes.

“You’re not exactly resisting.”

Alex wanted to wipe the smug look off Tobin’s face that was challenging her. Unhooking one of her arms that were around Tobin’s neck, she shifted so now Tobin was pushed against the wall. She cupped Tobin over her dark washed jeans and pushed up making Tobin inhale a sharp breath.

“Don’t get cocky Tobs. Remember there was a time when I did resist you and your moves.” She whispered against the shell of Tobin’s ear and nipped her earlobe as she added a little more pressure to her hand.

Alex then pulled away to pull down her skirt before moving to smooth out Tobin’s vest and straighten out the blue bow tie that matched Alex’s shirt.

“See you at lunch! I love you!” She chirped as she gave a quick peck to a stunned Tobin and headed the rest of the way to Sampson’s class making sure to give extra sway to her hips.

Tobin spent all of class 4 trying to recover from Alex’s stunt and calm herself down.

_‘Alex is so going to pay tonight.’_

She clenched her jaw and watched the clock until the bell released her for lunch.

The gals all met up at beginning of the main corridor to walk together to the cafeteria. They were joking and laughing on the way when all of a sudden the Jaws theme song started playing over the intercom system.

Everyone got quiet and the hall was dead silent except for the music. Then out of nowhere, Jake, one of the head people of the group came running down the hall in the uniform of their opponent tonight, Ridgeview High School.

“SHARRRRKKKK!” Jake screamed as another person in a full on shark costume ran after Jake.

Jake slowed down at the end of the hall and waited for the shark to catch up and grab him in a big hug and shook him while 2 other members jumped out on either side and threw red confetti at them. The “shark” let go and Jake fell to the ground pretending to be wounded after his “attack.”

“WE WILL. WE WILL. CHOMP YOU!” The Great Whites chanted loud and proud as they jumped around Jake before jumping around the hall getting the on looking students involved in the fun. They high fived the gals as they continued on to lunch laughing and feeling great.

 

The excitement carried on the rest of the day. Even the teachers were excited for the game and decided to let their students do group work in every remaining class.

When the final bell rang for dismissal, the whole school erupted in cheers knowing the game was now only a few hours away.

The gals met up in the gym to see the lineup and really just relax before the game.

 **Goal: Solo**  
**Defenders: Krieger, Broon, JJ, Kling**  
**Midfielders: Pinoe, Carli, Moe, Heath**  
**Forwards: Kelley, Sydney**

Everyone lost themselves in their same game day routines as if it was a regular game but they knew the stakes were much higher. A winner wouldn’t just be named at the end of the game; a winner would be crowned champion.

Alex didn’t need to do visuals because she wasn’t starting and still unsure if she would see minutes so she opted to just cuddled into Tobin’s side.

Kelley didn’t need Hope to calm her down this time and actually found herself dancing around with Sydney and Pinoe feeling light and free for the first time in a long time.

Hope looked on with an adoring smile as she noticed Kelley’s lighter attitude as she wrapped her wrists.

Soon it was game time and the team finished dressing and circled around Abby who stood up on a chair.

“I don’t have to tell you what the stakes are for today. I don’t have to tell you that at the end of the game a winner, which will hopefully be us, will be crowned Southern Californian Regional Champions. What I do have to tell you is that I am so damn proud of each and everyone one of you. Through all the highs and lows this season, we are a family and family never gives up. So let’s go out there and play our best soccer and show everyone what family really means.” Abby boomed and everyone was on their toes amped and ready to go.

“Sharks on three. ONE. TWO. THREE. SHARKS!” Everyone cheered and headed out of the locker room.

They knew how passionate and supportive people took sports at their school. They knew that soccer was the biggest sport at their school. But all that knowledge didn’t prepare them for the atmosphere they walked into.

Not a glimpse of silver metal could be scene with how packed the stadium was. The whole north, east, and west sides were crammed with people with some bodies spilling into the aisles. The south side grass area was littered with sheets and blankets and towels as people packed in to watch the game.

As soon as the team rounded the corner to head to the benches, students and proud parents stormed the fences that separated the bleachers from the field screaming different players’ names for attention.

All the gals stopped for a moment to just look around the stadium and take it all in. Emotions were on override as they realized the gravity of the situation.

They packed the stadium for this game. Every seat and free spot was taken because of them. Sure they saw some purple and black from the Ridgeview supporters but it was almost obsolete due to the overwhelming sea of silver and blue in the crowd.

Soon everyone was out on the field getting into positions as Santa Monica set to kick off.

Both teams were evenly matched in possession and had a few shots on goal each but nothing really came of it. It wasn’t until the 32nd minute that the game spiced up.

Pinoe was streaking in on the left when an opponent came sliding in and kicked the ball away to another player before threading the ball to their left forward. Their left forward spun around Kling before kicking the ball up and slamming a shot on goal. Hope tried to catch herself after initially guessing the wrong way but the effort fell flat. Everyone grew silent as Hope fell to the ground, without the ball, and watched the net ripple wildly after the ball.

The crowd groaned but didn’t stop the cheering in hopes to pump up their girls.

Hope hit the side goal post before angrily kicking the ball to midfield where Kelley and Sydney were waiting to kick off.

The whistle blew 15 minutes later and the teams retreated to the locker room.

Hope kicked a locker before dropping in her locker and staring at the ground with a clenched jaw. Everyone else was silent as they looked to Abby and Carli for guidance.

Abby was too frustrated and Carli could see that so she stepped up.

“We have nothing to be ashamed of. We are playing great soccer and they happened to get a lucky shot. We still have another half to get the job done and I have faith we will do it.”

The players all nodded at their Co Captain before Carli turned towards the sulking Hope.

“We need you to stay sharp Hope. So they got a goal, big deal. It wasn’t for lack of effort and I wouldn’t be surprised if you are now 5 inches taller with how much you stretched your body to try to save that shot. I know my badass goal keeper best friend can make saves. I know my badass family can make magic happen. So let’s shake this off and go out there and show Ridgeview that they can’t come into our house, mess with our family, and expect to come out with silverware.”

It was all the team needed to get them pumped and on their feet. Moe and Kling started hitting lockers to add to the energy. Even Hope had come out of her locker as she gave Carli a hug. Kelley smiled and winked when Hope’s eyes found hers over Carli’s shoulder.

The teams came back out, HAO subbed on for Pinoe, and the second half was underway.

Their pace was faster. Their passes were cleaner. Tobin was doing her footwork wizardry and stepping over players as if they were mere cracks in the sidewalk.

In the 59th minute, Krieger crossed the ball in and Tobin maneuvered so the ball rolled down the length of her body and off her foot to the ground. She tapped the ball and nutmegged her defender and was rewarded with loud whoops and hollers. She spun around to meet the ball and charged down the now wide open right flank.

Everyone charged forward and Tobin set up a cross. Her marker was about to catch up and jumped expecting Tobin to hit a high cross. Instead, Tobin sent in a ground cross to JJ who chipped the ball up over her marker where Morgan Brian headed it in.

“AND SANTA MONICA GETS THE EQUALIZER IN THE 60TH MINUTE! GOAL BY NUMBER 14, MORGAN BRIAN! ASSIST BY NUMBER 19, JULIE JOHNSTON!”

The crowd went crazy as Morgan jumped on JJ’s back and saluted the fans.

The supporters started to chant loud as they banged on their drums.

“SHARK BAIT. WHO HA HA. SHARK BAIT. WHO HA HA.”

After the goal, Ridgeview bumped up the tempo and started to stretch Santa Monica’s midfield and defense a little and even got a shot before Hope confidently collected. Coach subbed Lauren in for Moe to help calm the team. They needed another goal to avoid extra minutes but they needed to slow down and play smart to avoid making potentially fatal mistakes.

In the 81st minute, Ridgeview conceded a throw in just past midfield. Tobin stepped over the line to take it as she held the ball over her head. No one seemed to be open near her. Suddenly Tobin looked right and saw Kelley, who was higher up the field, completely open and most importantly on side. Tobin stepped way back and faked throwing left before she ran at the side line and did a head stand flip to give her momentum to throw the ball far enough to reach Kelley.

The crowd erupted in loud cheers at Tobin’s flip throw in and watched as Kelley met the ball and ran a few steps before planting and sending a screamer into the back of the net.

“AND SANTA MONICA TAKES THE LEAD! GOAL BY NUMBER 5, KELLEY O’HARA! ASSIST BY YOUR FAVORITE AND MINE WHO RECENTLY TURNED INTO A GYMNAST. NUMBER 17, TOBIIIINNNN HEATHHHH!”

As soon as she saw the net sway, she took off. She ran the entire sideline and high fived her team mates along the way. Then she took off to Hope and barreled into the keeper and knocked her down. Soon the rest of the on field players dog piled to the duo with shouts and screams of “I love you” and a “damn what super nut did you eat this morning squirrel” courtesy of HAO.

The Great Whites started to chant.

“OHHH! KELL-EY OOO-HAR-AAA! OHHH! KELL-EY OOO-HAR-AAA! OHHH! KELL-EY OOO-HAR-AAA!”

Ridgeview lined up and kicked off.

Alex looked at the clock winding down and started to get anxious. The 15 minute mark passed almost 10 minutes ago and she still wasn’t picked to sub yet. She looked at Coach Warner and deflated when she saw he wasn’t even looking in her direction.

_‘I can do this coach! I can play!’_

The clock clicked to the 87th minute and there was movement from the coach’s side of the bench. Alex held her breath and stared straight ahead too nervous to look anywhere else and listened.

“Kling needs to come out so tell Dunn she’s up. I know she is usually midfield but her speed will be useful on the backline in case she needs to back track and the fresh legs will preserve the lead. Kell has played all game but she still has gas in the tank so push her back to help and make it a 5 person back line.”

Alex looked at ground and sighed.

_‘Guess it was too soon for me to play.’_

Alex picked up her head just in time to see Hope confidently punch a ball away and the whistle sounded a second later. All sadness immediately vanished as she ripped her pinnie off and joined the rest of her bench mates and rushed the field to dogpile the active players.

After everyone got up from the pile, all the players took off in different directions of the stadium jumping and hollering to join the rowdy crowd to celebrate. Alex jumped on Tobin’s back as Tobin ran along the entire length of The North side allowing Alex to give out high fives. Ashlyn, Pinoe, Kelley, HAO, Syd, and a few others took The East side where the Great Whites were and started chanting and dancing with the supporters.

The crowd settled down after a while and it was time for the award ceremony. Abby and Carli stood in the middle with Coach Warner while the gals and the rest of the staff circled around them. The three counted to three while dipping the trophy up and down before hoisting it high in the air on 3 and cheered.

All the gals were milling about the field with their families before going into the locker room when they saw Coach Warner walking towards them with a familiar figure in tow.

Alex’s nerves were back as she gripped Tobin’s hand harder.

Mr. Peters…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *props to Finding Nemo for the shark bait reference*


	8. Whoomp...There It is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final straw...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly... All your comments make me so damn happy and I appreciate them all! I'm so glad you all are liking this story and want me to continue. It feels great knowing I'm putting up a story that is worthy of reading especially amongst fantastic writers and their amazing stories. Seriously you all are the best.
> 
> Secondly, I am so incredibly sorry that this update took way too long and I will try to update more timely for you loyal readers. 
> 
> Ps. To 'Guest' who wrote the comment about knowing I won't disappoint... Way to turn up the pressure ;) that's okay because I love it!
> 
> Enjoy everyone! :)

Alex stood on her balcony watching the breeze create ripples in her in-ground pool with balled fists and a clenched jaw. It’s been a very long and lonely weekend to say the least.

Did she and Tobin break up? She sure as hell hoped not because even though Tobin has been constantly calling and texting Alex, each text and call went unanswered.

Did her and Kelley friend break up? Maybe. It’s not like neither her or Kelley has tried to communicate.

 

_***Flash Back*** _

_**Mr. Peters smiled and congratulated the girls on the epic win. He spent a lot of time talking to Tobin and Kelley with a bright smile and Alex distracted herself with her conversation with Jeri.** _

_**“Excuse me Alex, may I have a word?”** _

_**Alex gave a nod of acknowledgement to the older gentleman before turning to Jeri who already was walking away backwards with an understanding smile.** _

_**“Did you enjoy the game Mr. Peters?” Alex smiled politely.** _

_**“Very much so. You girls sure know how to put on a show.”** _

_**Alex tried to hide the nervousness and forced out a small laugh.** _

_**“That we do.”** _

_**The two fell into a silence for a few moments before Mr. Peters cleared his throat.** _

_**“Listen Alex, I talked to Coach Warner and I understand where he was coming from by not wanting to rush your return. You are a highly valued asset to this team and a fantastic forward.”** _

_**A burst of confidence flooded through Alex as she smiled an honest smile.** _

_**The older man ran a hand through his jet black hair before continuing on.** _

_**“I am extremely aware of your talent and value and I would be stupid to not recruit you for our program. Unfortunately with that being said, while I can take up to 5 recruits at a time, I regret to inform you I cannot offer you a spot at this time. However, your coach told me that your team was invited to play against Stanford and Cal Berkeley and he fully intends to play you. That’s fantastic that a high school team is being invited to play on the college level. I told him that I would be at those games and keeping a close eye on you. So stay healthy and train hard because I really want the dynamic duo in our program and fully believe we will see great things. Remember what I said Alex. Good day.”** _

_**As soon as Mr. Peters left Alex’s side, Tobin came bounding up to her side.** _

_**“Yo. Peters offered me, Kelley, and Hope a spot in the CSA program. I saw him talking to you for a long time and came right over when he left. Looks like we’ll accomplish our dreams together like we wished for!” Tobin smiled but immediately frowned when she saw the downturned corners of Alex’s mouth.** _

_**“What’s wrong?”** _

_**Alex looked away.** _

_**“I didn’t get offered a spot. Apparently the team got invited to play Stanford and Berkeley in the upcoming weeks and he’ll be watching me but that’s all he can offer for now.” Alex fiddled with the hem of her jersey.** _

_**“I’m so sorry babe but look on the bright side! He is going to be watching you and I know he’ll offer you a spot!” Tobin tried to grab Alex’s hand and frowned when Alex flinched away.** _

_**“You don’t get it Tobin. He flat out told me he’d be stupid to not recruit me because he knows my talent and value. But look, he left and I have no offered spot.”** _

_**“Lex, he said he will be watching you. And since he said that, he is basically offering you a second look. Do you know the odds of getting a second chance with the CSA? It’s literally a one chance shot and you’re getting offered it twice. Be proud of that.”** _

_**“No Tobin! God, how can you be so damn oblivious sometimes? He only said those things to be nice and professional. I’m damaged goods and I’m no longer the player I thought I was. Even coach is having doubts because he GAVE AWAY my spot to Kelley. She’s not even a forward! Have fun in the program and becoming a big time soccer star with Kelley and Hope. Go off and have fun and be a superstar and forget all about me.” Alex spat as she turned to walk away.** _

_**“Alex!” Tobin yelled as she went to grab for Alex’s hand.** _

_**Alex ripped her hand away and glared at Tobin.** _

_**“Don’t touch me. Why don’t you go to Kelley and Hope? You don’t need your tainted girlfriend holding you back.” She seethed as she stomped towards the locker room.** _

_**“Alex please!” Tobin shouted but Alex kept walking.** _

_**Unfortunately for Kelley, she was close enough to see the exchange but too far to hear the conversation as she jogged towards Alex.** _

_**Tobin tried to yell to Kelley for her not bother Alex but the warning fell on deaf ears as the two figures disappeared around the corner towards the locker room.** _

_**“Alex! Alex, wait up! Damn those long legs of yours!” Kelley panted as she got closer to Alex.** _

_**“Not now Kelley!” Alex yelled over her shoulder.** _

_**Kelley reached Alex and grabbed her arm.** _

_**“Alex talk to me. I saw your exchange with Tobin. Is everything okay?” Kelley asked with concern.** _

_**“Leave it alone O’Hara.” Alex warned.** _

_**“Come on Alex, we’re best friends. Please tell me what’s wrong.” She tried again and Alex just about snapped.** _

_**“God can you ever leave things alone?! No Kelley, everything is not okay. You all got recruited to the CSA program and I didn’t; something that I dreamed and worked for my entire life since the moment I first kicked a soccer ball. Then that all got thrown away all because of a stupid ankle injury from a stupid player who played stupidly! So you and Hope and Tobin can all go have fun and become professional soccer players together and just live the life. You’re welcome by the way.”** _

_**Kelley was now confused.** _

_**“What?”** _

_**“You only got the starting spot, MY starting spot, because I was injured. Good job on taking advantage of my injury by exploiting it for your own selfish gain. And now you have MY spot in the CSA program. Some best friend.” Alex spat.** _

_**“Is that what you think? That you had to go get injured for me to even be considered for minutes? That’s low Alex.”** _

_**Alex winced a little because she knew that was a low blow but she was too far now and she was still angry for not getting offered a spot in the program.** _

_**“Well you sure didn’t waste the opportunity.”** _

_**“I don’t even have words for you right now. You think I was happy you got injured? You think I took advantage of the situation? I didn’t. I didn’t ask for any of this. All I wanted was to see more minutes and play my favorite sport with my favorite people. I sure as hell didn’t it want it at the expense of your well-being. I’m unbelievably sorry you got injured but I’m not sorry for stepping up when coach needed me. And if you can’t understand any of that, then maybe you’re not the best friend I thought you were.”** _

_**“Same could be said about you.” Alex pushed out through gritted teeth and pushed past Kelley to the locker room.** _

_***End Flash Back*** _

 

She had been known to indulge in a little self-pity from time to time. If she didn’t like how she played or didn’t score in a game, she would spend the whole rest of the day and sometimes the next day with the whole “whoa is me” and “the world against me” spiels.

But this? This was unfamiliar territory. This was a new feeling that Alex never thought she would ever feel, let alone feel it in every inch of her body.

Alex Morgan was in full self-loathing mode.

She hated how she had acted after Mr. Peters left. She hated how she brushed off her family and teammates. Most of all, she couldn’t stomach how she treated Kelley and Tobin.

Alex made a face before kicking one of the posts in the balcony railing.

_‘I’m a monster.’_

Alex walked back into her room and sat on the edge of the bed and looked around.

There was no neon green Nike’s tossed carelessly in the middle of the room. There wasn’t a shirt that didn’t belong to her tossed haphazardly on the side of the bed. There was no long board propped against her wall.

The whole room was devoid of Tobin and Alex had no one to blame but herself.

She scooted towards the headboard and stared up at the ceiling until it was time for school.

Alex readjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and walked into school with her eyes cast downward.

It had been a long and lonely weekend and she fought with herself the whole way to school on whether to go straight to her first class or meet up with the girls.

She took a chance and glanced at the quad and observed her group of friends.

Amy and Lauren where talking quietly with HAO while Ashlyn and Ali kept to themselves in their own love bubble. Sydney was checking her make up in her compact mirror while flashing Pinoe disgusted looks as the blonde ungracefully shoved her hash browns into her mouth.

Alex’s lips ghosted a smile at the interactions between her friends. She was about to make her way over but stopped when she was halfway to the table and frowned.

Tobin sat on the other side of Lauren but her body was turned slightly away from the group which caused Alex to not see her initially. Her hood was over her head that was buried in her arms. Alex’s heart seemed to crack as she noticed her girlfriend and mentally kicked herself for being the reason of her current state.

_‘Talk to her. She has been trying all weekend to talk to you. She deserves it.’_

Alex walked up to the table and everyone seemed to stutter in their activities. Lauren quickly recovered and smiled at the young forward.

“Good morning Alex.” She said gently and Alex tried to ignore the not so subtle flinch and effort to curl farther away from the table by Tobin when Lauren said Alex’s name.

“Morning Cheney. Morning girls.” Alex responded flatly.

Everyone but Tobin voiced a good morning back and went back to their respective conversations.

Lauren and Alex had a silent conversation back and forth before she and Amy moved down a little and Lauren nodded her head towards Tobin. Alex sighed in defeat and quietly filled the empty space between Lauren and Tobin.

_'How do I approach this?’_

Alex mulled over different apologies but scrunched her face in annoyance because everything she came up with sounded forced and insincere. Finally, she gave up on words and let her actions convey her apology.

She swung her leg over so she was straddling the bench and scooted over until her front was pressed against Tobin’s left side. She tried to ignore the way Tobin tensed and slid her right under Tobin’s hoodie and t-shirt and rubbed up and down the smooth warm skin of her back while her left hand burrowed in the kangaroo pocket of Tobin’s hoodie. Tobin seemed to relax and Alex rested her chin on top of Tobin’s folded arms and nuzzled her nose into the side of Tobin’s covered face.

The duo sat in silence for a few moments before Alex finally coaxed Tobin into looking at her. What Alex saw broke her heart.

Tobin’s warm brown eyes full of life that Alex fell in love with were now a dull brown. The skin underneath was slightly puffy and that’s what hit Alex below the belt.

_‘Tobin never really cries and she’s been crying… over me.’_

Alex’s vibrant blue eyes turned a dull shade, almost gray, as they started to moisten with tears.

“I’m so sorry I treated you the way I did. I’m sorry for yelling and I’m sorry for ignoring you all weekend. I’ve been so miserable during the day and the night was almost unbearable alone in bed. I could only imagine how you felt.” Alex whispered so no one could hear their conversation.

“Why?” Tobin mumbled.

“I was angry and jealous and my selfishness got the best of me and I know that’s not an excuse but it’s the truth. I was mad that I was injured and couldn’t play and I was jealous that Kelley thrived in the forward position when coach moved her from defense. Worst of all, I was selfish. You, Kelley, and Hope received an amazing offer and I devalued that amazing achievement instead of being a supportive girlfriend and best friend.”

“You hurt Kelley you know. And you really hurt me.” Tobin looked away to sniff back tears that were threatening to fall.

“I know and I will deal with that later but right now, you’re most important. I hate myself with how I treated you because you absolutely didn’t deserve anything I threw at you. You’ve been my number one support from the beginning and it kills me that I hurt you. Those beautiful brown eyes should never shed tears especially because of me. I’m really sorry Toby and I promise to take better care of your feelings. I love you.” Alex spoke quietly as her grip tightened on the inside of Tobin’s hoodie pocket.

Tobin sighed and turned her face to look at Alex and they stared in silence for a few moments. The life seemed to come back into Tobin’s eyes as a smile spread from cheek to cheek.

“I still don’t know how you convinced me to let you call me Toby.”

Alex laughed before feigning annoyance. “That’s what you got out of all that?”

“No. Apparently my brown eyes are beautiful too.” Tobin smirked before shifting so she could straddle the bench and grabbed Alex’s legs and wrapped them around her waist. She hooked her hands around her lower back and pressed their foreheads together.

“Apology accepted. I missed you so much this weekend Lex. I love you too and I love it when you call me Toby.” Tobin whispered against her lips before stealing them in a kiss that made Alex sigh in content.

“Mmm, I missed you more. I really am sorry and I’ll make it up to you.” Alex mumbled against Tobin’s lips.

Their personal bliss was short lived.

“MY GOD WE GET IT! You made up! Now learn some personal space before I see my breakfast again.” Pinoe shouted causing Alex to hide in Tobin’s neck from embarrassment and the rest of the girls to laugh.

The first bell rang and all the girls got up to head to their classes. Alex unhooked from Tobin and stood up and straightened out her clothes. Tobin dutifully shouldered Alex’s bag before grabbing her own bag and Alex’s hand before heading off to their first class.

 

Alex felt content for the first time since after the game but it was quickly short lived when the bell signaled the end of class 4. It was time for lunch which mean time to face Kelley since Kelley never showed up at the table that morning.

Tobin was talking animatedly to Cheney with Alex tucked into her side when she felt Alex tense. She paused and was about to ask what’s wrong when she noticed Alex staring and followed her gaze to Kelley and Hope walking behind Carli through the cafeteria doors.

The two approached and gave a general greeting before sitting down in their spots.

“Hey Kells. Solo.” Tobin tried with a bright smile.

Hope nodded while Kelley smiled at Tobin.

“Hey Tobin.” Kelley answered before unwrapping her sandwich.

“Hi Kelley.” Alex greeted in a small voice.

“Alex.” Kelley nodded curtly before returning to her food.

Alex sighed and looked down.

Halfway through lunch, Kelley and Tobin got into a ridiculous argument about Kelley’s driving to the amusement of their tablemates.

“I love you Kell but I fear for my life every time I get into your car!”

“You’re dramatic. I am a wonderful driver!”

“You swerved into the other lane of traffic the other day because you saw a squirrel!”

“I didn’t want to hit him!”

“IT WAS ON THE SIDEWALK!”

The girls busted out laughing as Kelley pouted.

“Babeeeee. Tobin is being mean!” Kelley whined.

“Tobin’s just mad you like squirrels more than her.” Hope chuckled.

“Oh really Solo? Why don’t you tell Kelley about the time she insisted on driving to the beach house for Spring Break last year and you took two shots of tequila before we left?” Tobin challenged with a smirk.

“HOPE?!” Kelley gasped.

“I. Uh. That’s not. I wanted to get in the party mood because I know how much you love to party.” Hope tried to recover.

Tobin smirked and sat up straighter.

“After your shots you offered me the bottle and said and I quote: ‘I love Kelley to death but God help us all’”

By now the girls where just about falling out of their chairs at a bright red Hope and a wide open mouthed Kelley.

“Is that why you always drive?” Kelley asked with a slight frown.

It was mostly the reason why she drove but she still felt bad at the look of hurt on Kelley’s face.

“Yes, but I really do like to drive. Plus, you are so adorable when you’re in the passenger seat ‘performing’ to the songs on the radio. It’s one of my favorite ways to spend time with you.” Hope mumbled and looked down semi embarrassed.

“OMG Hopey Bear!” Kelley melted and placed a kiss on Hope’s lips.

Pinoe snorted and Tobin threw one of the grapes that she and Alex were sharing at the couple across from them. Kelley narrowed her eyes at the duo in front of her.

“Careful Tobs. Alex might get mad that you’re throwing  _ **her**_ grapes at me.” Kelley sneered causing Alex to wince at the jab.

Before anyone could say anything, Kelley abruptly stood up. “I have to go talk to my teacher.” And then she was gone.

Hope gave a quick nod to the group and wordlessly got up to chase after Kelley. The rest of the girls awkwardly looked between Alex and the door Kelley stormed through before falling into an uncomfortable silence.

Alex folded her arms on the table and dropped her head and internally groaned. _‘Fuck.’_

 

The day was winding down and Kelley had managed to avoid Alex. She was walking out of her last class when she felt a pull on her arm that made her stagger back a few steps.

“What the?” She grumbled before turning around and met the face of the one person she has been trying to avoid.

“What do you want Alex? I have to go meet Hope.”

“We’re all going to the same place for practice. I want to talk to you about lunch.”

“Yeah well I don’t. So if you don’t mind, I would like to go find my girlfriend.” Kelley detached Alex’s hand from her arm and started to walk away.

Alex huffed before speed walking to catch up to Kelley and stood in front of her.

“Come on Kell. You’re my best friend and I don’t want you mad at me. I know I treated you horribly and I’m sorry.” Alex stared at Kelley hoping she could easily coax the defender. Kelley was stubborn sometimes and she was already mentally exhausted.

Today was not the day for easy.

“You should have thought about that before you said those horrible things to me.” Kelley tried to keep her voice even.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t have. If I could take it back, I would but I can’t. I couldn’t sleep because I just kept thinking about what I said to you. I was miserable.”

_‘Miserable? She was miserable? She doesn’t even know the meaning of the word. Does she know what I went through?’_

Kelley snapped.

“Miserable? MISERABLE?! You don’t know the meaning of the word miserable! You want to know what miserable means? Let me educate you on the word _**Alexandra**_.” Kelley narrowed her eyes and squared her shoulders.

“Miserable is when you think you are a good soccer player but feel like your coach lost faith in you when you don’t see a lot of minutes. Miserable is when you finally see minutes but at the price of your best friend getting seriously hurt in a game. Miserable is when you’re excited to get playing time but are constantly thinking you’re only good enough because the star player is hurt. Miserable is when you spend more time believing you’re not good enough to be a regular starter than you spend believing that you are good enough to play. Miserable is when you show up to every practice in constant fear that once the star player returns, your talent that deep down you know you have, will be forgotten and you’ll always be a bench warmer. Miserable is when you lose the ability to believe in yourself. So tell me again how you were miserable.” Kelley spat as she dug her nails into her palms to distract the urge to cry with the pain sensation.

“Kelley I didn’t-“

“I know you didn’t because I’m sorry to say but you were selfish. You were so worried about your spot and frustrated because you wanted to play, that you only saw things at face value. All you saw was yourself sitting sidelined with an injury while I played at forward. You didn’t see how much it meant to me for coach to give me the opportunity to shine like I once did. He believed in me to step up while you had to step down- ** _temporarily_** I might add. It took me so long and countless talks with Hope to believe that I’m just as important to this team as any other player. Everyone believed in me but you and you’re supposed to be my best friend.”

Kelley looked away trying her hardest not to cry while Alex looked down at the floor in shame.

The two sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Kelley cleared her throat again and Alex looked up.

“Yes your words hurt. But you not being the support system a best friend should offer is what hurt me the worst.”

Kelley let a few tears fall before turning her back on Alex and walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think Alex and Kelley can fix their friendship? Did Tobin forgive too easily? What does this all mean for the future of our favorites? Hope yall are enjoying!


	9. The Good, The Bad, and The.. Sexy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good times, bad times, and a little bit of sexy time mixed with jealousy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of stuff going on so a super long chapter for you to enjoy!
> 
> You all make me so happy you're excited about this story :) Keep coming with that feedback good or bad!

When one person has a problem within the group of soccer players, you have plenty of solutions for said problem. When the problem is amongst the group themselves, you’re faced with uncomfortable silence and eggshells to walk on.

Coach whistled to stop practice despite there being an hour left.

“Every single one of you get over here right now!” Coach Warner shouted and the girls all hustled to the coach by the benches.

“I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you all but you certainly aren’t the team that I have been coaching all season. Where are my champions? Because everyone that I’m watching out on the field today looks like they have never played a game of soccer before.”

It was true; at the rate Hope was going, an infant could score on her. Kelley refused to pass to Alex. Alex shot all her balls wide. Tobin nutmegged herself which coach didn’t know whether to be impressed or mad because he didn’t think nutmegging yourself was even possible. Among all of those problems, the team couldn’t connect with each other and it had everything to do with the two fighting friends competing with each other up top and not in the healthy way.

“I’m ending practice now and I expect attitudes and work ethic to be one hundred percent better when you show up for tomorrow’s practice. I have arranged two games against Cal Berkley and Stanford in the upcoming weeks. It was supposed to be a fun surprise but now use it as incentive. Think about that tonight because anyone who doesn’t come to practice tomorrow with their A game, won’t see any type of game. Good day girls.” Coach finished and turned around to pack the equipment up with the assistants.

The girls bowed their head in shame and headed into the locker room.

It was eerily silent as everyone headed to their own lockers to pack up, ready for the day to be over with.

Kelley finished first and sped out of the locker room. Hope threw her gloves in her bag and slammed her locker shut and stalked over to Alex.

“Fix it Morgan.” She growled before turning on her heels to chase after Kelley.

Alex ducked her head in shame and packed up faster as everyone just stared in shock. Tobin quickly gathered the last of her stuff and headed over to Alex.

“Nothing to see here.” She dismissed everyone and grabbed Alex’s bag then her hand and shuffled Alex out of the room.

The two walked in silence towards their cars. Tobin smiled when she noticed that Alex parked next to her even though they were sort of fighting all weekend.

Tobin threw her stuff in her car as Alex wordlessly popped her trunk so Tobin could put away her stuff. Tobin placed the soccer bag down before closing the trunk and smiled timidly at Alex.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Alex just shook her head no and launched herself into Tobin’s arms. Alex inhaled Tobin’s scent and buried further into her neck.

_‘How could I have treated Tobin so terribly, when her arms are where I feel safest?’_

Alex sighed in content as Tobin soothingly rubbed her hands up and down Alex’s back.

Eventually Alex pulled away just enough to look into her favorite brown eyes.

“I’m sorry again for how I treated you. I also tried to apologize to Kelley but I hurt her too much. I said some horrible things to her and I guess it took her yelling at me to fully grasp the context of the words I said to her.” Alex looked down at her shoes and a few tears escaped her eyes.

“Hey look at me.” Tobin gently grabbed Alex’s chin to make her look at her.

“Thank you for the apology. It’s not okay that it happened but we are going to be okay. I love you too much to let this break us and even though I was upset and mad at you, I still missed you. I hate not talking to you because you are the best part of my day. As for Kelley, you know how stubborn she is but I also don’t really fault her. I don’t want to make you feel worse but you said even more horrible things to her and it is going to take time and work to heal those wounds. Make sure she knows you’re sorry and do everything you can to prove to Kelley that you are really sorry and it will never happen again. I mean you’ve known each other since diapers. If hanging out with each other in pooped filled clothes doesn’t say true friendship, I don’t know what does.” Tobin giggled and hugged Alex tighter as the younger girl let out a giggle herself.

“I love how you do that. You know exactly what to say to calm me down and lighten the mood as well in a way only you can.” Alex buried in Tobin’s neck and gave her a soft kiss on the smooth skin.

“That’s what I’m here for. To love you. To protect you. To make you feel better. To keep you grounded and tell you when you’re wrong. To support you. To help you be the best version of you that you can be.” Alex looked up with nothing but affection for the star midfielder.

“And the sex is fantastic so that is just bonus points.”

And there goes the mood but Alex couldn’t help but smile wide at her favorite person.

“I love you.”

“I love you too Alex. Now let’s go home. I’ll meet you at your place because you owe me a whole weekend’s worth of cuddles… and stuff.” Tobin cheekily smiled and wiggled her eyebrows.

Alex just rolled her eyes and pecked Tobin on the lips.

“Follow me stud.”

 

Alex took Tobin’s advice and gave Kelley the space she wanted. The next day at practice was a lot better all-around and Coach Warner was grateful for it. He really didn’t want to bench any of his players but would if it came down to it because he wanted them to take his threats seriously.

She stopped fighting Kelley and just played the game as if there was no bad blood between them at all.

Kelley noticed when Alex passed her the ball but concealed her surprise. She wasn’t ready to talk to or forgive Alex just yet.

Things were going well with the team as a whole, but individual problems were still there. Alex watched from afar Tobin, Hope and Kelley all laughing and joking around and while she knew she was the reason for her isolation of the group, she couldn’t help but get annoyed that she still couldn’t break down Kelley’s walls.

It also didn’t help that the three of them were leaving Saturday for their 4 day trip to the CSA. So the closer the trip got, the more on edge Alex was.

 

Tobin started to stir as her alarm chirped from her bed side table. Groaning, she blindly hit around the table until she was rewarded with silence. She blinked a few times before quietly slipping out of Alex’s grasp to take a shower.

The warm water cascading over Tobin relaxed her as she went about her shower routine. 15 minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom in a black sports bra and black Nike pros. She walked to her closet to find an outfit when she heard movement behind her.

Alex started to stir and reached over to the left side to grab Tobin but whimpered when she met cold empty sheets.

“Tobin?” She called with her voice thick with sleep.

Tobin melted at the sleepy, bed head appearance of Alex and crawled back into bed and tugged Alex on top of her.

“I’m right here babe. Good morning.” Tobin cooed as she dipped her hands under her t-shirt to rub her lower back.

“Mhmm. Morning.” Alex mumbled as she nuzzled deeper into Tobin’s neck and placed a gentle kiss at the base of her throat.

The two laid in silence for a while with Tobin rubbing Alex’s back and Alex drifting back into dream land. Just when Alex’s breath started to even out, Tobin stopped rubbing and nudged Alex’s side gently.

“Hey I need to get up. I have to finish getting ready then I have to head to Hope’s to pick her and Kelley up so we can head to San Diego for The Academy.” She spoke cautiously so she didn’t upset the other girl.

“Oh right. You’re leaving today.” Alex deflated as she rolled off Tobin and faced away.

“It’s only for a few days Lex. I’ll be back on Wednesday and then we’ll spend the rest of break together just you and me.”

Alex turned around with big sad blue eyes.

“It’s not just that Tobin. I should be joining you three instead of staying home alone.” She pouted as she faced away again and pulled the blanket over her head.

“Come on Lex, don’t be like that.” Tobin pleaded as she tried pulling the blanket away from Alex’s face.

Alex wouldn’t budge and gripped the blanket tighter.

“Babe.”

“---“

“Lex.”

“---“

“Alexandra.”

Finally Alex reluctantly poked her head out of the blankets. Tobin smiled goofily at her girlfriend and Alex let out a small smile despite herself.

“I’m trying to wallow in my sadness and I can’t do that when you’re being adorable.” Alex pointed out which caused Tobin to grin wider.

“Look I know you are upset about not getting a spot but you will soon. You’re going to knock Mr. Peters’ socks off during the two college games and then we can show the world who the dynamic duo truly are!”

Alex let a full smile creep on her face and Tobin leaned down to kiss her before hoping off the bed to get dressed.

Once Tobin was dressed, she grabbed her bag and put it on the edge of her bed. She looked around for her keys and frowned when she couldn’t find them.

She opened all her drawers, looked under her bed, and even inside her shoes but nothing.

_‘Maybe I left them downstairs.’_

Tobin quickly raced down the stairs only to return with furrowed eye brows and a pout. The longer she went empty handed, the more frustrated she got.

“Have you seen my keys Lex? I need to leave soon.” She pouted.

“No sorry. Did you check your pants from yesterday?”

Tobin walked over to her laundry basket and dug around only to let out a frustrated sigh.

“Where the heck are they?!” Tobin shouted before plopping on the bed.

When she hit the mattress, she heard a faint jingly sound and looked at Alex who averted her eyes.

“Do you know where my keys are?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup.” Alex popped her p and Tobin got suspicious.

Then Tobin bounced once up and down on the bed.

**Jingle, Jingle.**

She bounced again.

**Jingle, Jingle.**

“ALEX!” Tobin yelled as she straddled the taller girl.

“So where are they? I hear them, but I can’t see them.”

“I don’t have them!” She tried but her voice pitched higher-her tell for when she was lying.

Tobin started tickling Alex causing her to shriek and wildly move her hands about to try and stop the attack.

“Stop! I. Don’t. Have. Them.” She gasped in between giggles.

To stop getting hit by Alex’s flailing hands, Tobin grabbed her wrists and pinned her arms above her head. Alex immediately quieted down and Tobin leaned down until she was centimeters from Alex’s lips.

“Hmm, I don’t believe you.” She murmured before connecting their lips into a searing kiss.

She swiped her tongue across Alex’s bottom lip and Alex immediately opened her mouth. They fought for control for a while before Tobin released Alex’s arms and placed her own hands on either side of Alex’s head on the bed.

Using her new leverage, Tobin pushed her hips down into Alex’s causing the girl below to moan into her mouth. Alex slid her hands around Tobin’s waist and onto her ass before squeezing hard causing Tobin to return the moan.

Not wanting to lose control, Tobin slowed her kissing and finally pulled away, taking Alex’s bottom lip between her teeth as she did so. She shifted and placed her right knee between Alex’s legs and pushed gently up against Alex’s center. Alex let out another groan as she squeezed Tobin’s ass again and bucked her hips to add more friction.

That’s when Tobin thought she heard a faint jingle but couldn’t be sure because of Alex’s shameless moans. Pushing her leg up a little more against Alex, the blue eyed girl moved her hips again and Tobin unmistakably heard the jingle again.

_‘Got ya.’_

As Tobin added a little more pressure, she dipped her head to reach Alex’s pulse point. She kissed and sucked until a nice little bruise started to form and then rolled her tongue around to soothe the area. Alex was panting by now and had moved her hands to tangle in Tobin’s hair and started to tug the sandy brown locks.

Tobin smirked against Alex’s neck knowing she had her right where she wanted her. As Tobin scraped her teeth against Alex’s collar bone causing Alex to tug a little harder, Tobin moved her hand to Alex’s waist band. She dragged her fingers along the band and bit down on Alex’s collarbone.

“Tooobinnnn.” Alex moaned out and Tobin made her move. She slid her hand around Alex’s hip and around her lower back and hit cold metal instead of warm velvety skin.

“AH HA!” Tobin shouted triumphantly as she swung the key ring around her finger in the air and smirked at Alex.

Alex just stared up at Tobin wide eyed and slack jawed in disbelief.

Tobin smirked even more and climbed off Alex to stand next to the bed while still swinging her keys.

“I thought you didn’t have them?”

Alex was just too turned on for a smart ass comeback.

“I hope you plan to finish what you started.”

“Sorry, I really have to go pick up Hope and Kelley so we can get going.”

Tobin turned to grab her bag but Alex grabbed her hand. When she turned to question Alex, she saw that Alex’s blue eyes were now 5 shades darker.

“Excuse me; are you really going to leave me here like this?” Alex spoke in a strained voice as she gently pulled Tobin’s hand down and into her shorts so she could feel Alex’s current situation.

Tobin gulped as her fingers became slick and she leaned down to kiss Alex roughly. After a few minutes, she pulled both her hand and lips away from Alex.

“Yes because that means you’ll miss me. Now you know how I felt when you wouldn’t talk to me all last weekend. I’m sorry Lex but I have to get going.” Tobin kissed her forehead and then gathered the rest of her things before she gave in to Alex.

Truth be told, Tobin hadn’t fully forgiven Alex. She missed the girl terribly but Alex’s words hurt her and the silence hurt even more. She didn’t want to deny Alex anything, but Lauren had told her despite her wanting them to be nothing but happy, she felt Tobin had forgiven Alex too easily and quickly.

Tobin thought Lauren was just being too protective because everything was going fine between the two until Alex had a little bit of a relapse.

On Tuesday night, Tobin told Alex she couldn’t sleep over or pick her up the next morning because she was working on a project with Hope and Kelley.

When Wednesday came, Alex ignored and avoided Tobin all day which in any other situation, Tobin would be impressed considering they had 5 classes, lunch, and practice together.

During their practice scrimmage after school, Tobin sent a cross in to Alex who got to the ball but missed her shot. When Tobin sent a cross in to Kelley on the next set, Kelley made her shot. Alex got mad at Tobin and said good luck with her new partner in crime and demanded to be on the other team for the rest of the scrimmage.

After practice, Tobin wanted to talk to Alex and reached Alex’s car just as the forward shut her door. When Alex didn’t roll the window down, Tobin stood behind her car and refused to move until Alex talked to her. Finally Alex got frustrated, got out of the car, and told Tobin if she wanted to talk to someone so bad, she could call Hope and Kelley since she wanted to spend more time with them than her. Then she got back in the car and waited until Tobin finally gave up and moved out of the way and Alex peeled out of the parking lot.

Later that night, a knock on the door at 10 o’clock at night revealed to Tobin a puffy red eyed Alex holding a stuffed bear in a tiny snap back, an “I’m sorry” balloon, and a bag of Tobin’s favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies.

“Okay I’m heading out. Make sure you lock up before you leave okay? I love you.” Tobin whispered before kissing Alex on the lips.

Alex pouted and mumbled an ‘I love you too’ before turning over and going back to sleep and Tobin left for Hope’s house.

 

“We have arrived!” Hope announced causing Kelley to clap excitedly while the commotion scared a snoozing Tobin awake.

The trio parked the car and headed towards the building to see check in with registration.

While the clerk was looking up their information in the computer, Mr. Peters happened to walk by the office and popped in.

“Tobin! Hope! Kelley! So glad to see you! How is everything?” The older gentlemen greeted with a bright white smile.

“Everything is great! Super honored to be here.” Kelley smiled back and the other two nodded in agreement.

“Well I hope you enjoy yourselves while staying focused and really showing the academy what you got! I’ll let you get settled and I will see you all later today for a gym session. Tomorrow is when the fun begins with field training. Take care ladies!” Mr. Peters bid his goodbye and continued on his way.

After receiving their information and checking in, the trio made their ways to the building that they would be staying in for the next 4 days.

They got to the room and Kelley immediately launched herself on the bed near the window, leaving Hope and Tobin to carry the bags. They decided to just chill out until it was time to head to the gym.

When the clock hit 5:45, the girls decided to head to the gym building so they wouldn’t be late for their 6 pm session. The 3 friends headed over joking around excited about the opportunity they were given.

Mr. Peters came in and did a welcome speech for all the new comers and then everyone got straight to work.

“I need to work out my shoulder because it’s tightening up.” Hope kissed Kelley’s temple before heading over to the pull down machine.

“Want to do some medicine ball work with me?” Kelley suggested and Tobin just nodded.

Tobin and Kelley stood back to back passing the medicine ball back and forth for a while. When Tobin went to pass the ball to Kelley again and the shorter girl didn’t reach for the ball, Tobin turned around with a quirked eyebrow. She smirked when she saw what was up with her freckly friend.

Kelley was gawking at Hope, who had taken her shirt off and tucked it into the back of her shorts and left in a sports bra, was doing her work out on the machine.

“Hello, Earth to Kelley.” Tobin snapped her fingers in front of Kelley’s face.

“Huh what?” Kelley stuttered.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you it is not polite to stare? Plus wipe your chin. You’re drooling.” Tobin teased.

“I’m sorry, she’s just so hot! Look at how her back muscles contract. They are so rigid and defined and I just want to trace every muscle. No wonder she can lift me up so easily.” Kelley babbled on with glazed over eyes.

“Okay while you stare like a creep, I’ll be over here doing squats.” Tobin mused but knew Kelley had already tuned her out.

After putting on the desired weights, Tobin started doing her reps and getting lost in the zone. By her third set, Tobin noticed a tall brunette on a leg press machine 10 feet away from her looking in her direction. Tobin shrugged it off and continued with her business.

When she was on her fifth and final set, Tobin noticed the girl was staring at her again. Tobin fully turned to take a look when she noticed the girl quickly averted her eyes and continued with her own work out.

_‘Was that girl checking me out?’_

Tobin shook off the feeling and continued on to the elliptical where she was joined by Kelley and eventually Hope who took to a treadmill.

Gym session finally ended to the relief of all the girls and Mr. Peters dismissed them for the night.

Hope, Kelley, and Tobin made their way back to their room and collapsed on their beds.

“Okay no hanky panky while I’m here. It’s bad enough I’ve walked in on you two more than once.” Tobin glared at the couple but failed to keep the smile off her face.

“It’s okay babe. She sleeps like a rock so we just have to wait.” Kelley giggled.

“I heard that!” Tobin shouted and turned her back to them causing the two to laugh.

Everyone bid goodnight as Kelley snuggled into Hope’s side and Hope turned the light off.

The next morning, the girls changed in training gear and headed to breakfast. Today was their first field training at the academy and they were a bundle of excited nerves.

Would they be as good as the others? Well they had to be since they got invited just like the rest of the group. They were also excited to learn different styles from the other players and new techniques from the trainers.

After the group got to the field and listened to introductions of the field trainers, the girls separated.

Hope ventured off to the goal keeper trainer, while Tobin and Kelley found field trainers. Tobin was put with the other midfielders while Kelley explained she was a natural left back but recently was thrown into forward.

Eventually the trainer put Kelley with the forwards since that’s where she played when she got scouted with promise to also throw her in defense before the end of the trip.

After a bunch of drills, the trainers set up mini scrimmages. Tobin and Kelley got grouped to the same team but were opposite of Hope. Hope started to trot to goal and called out to Kelley.

“Can’t score on me O’Hara!”

“I already have!” Kelley shouted back with a wink causing Hope to blush.

Their scrimmaged ended with Kelley gloating to Hope because her and Tobin’s team won 3-2. Hope just grumbled but shot her a quick smile before heading back over to the goal keeper coach.

The field trainer ordered partner passing for cool down so Tobin and Kelley grabbed a ball and started doing just that.

The two were joking around and passing back and forth for a while before Kelley looked past Tobin and quirked an eyebrow.

“Don’t be obvious but brunette 6 o’clock is checking you out.” Kelley whispered.

“Sure Kell. Whatever you say.”

“I’m serious!”

“Just ignore it.” Tobin dismissed and the two continued to pass back and forth.

The trainers called it a day and praised everyone’s hard work.

Tobin started to juggle the ball as she returned it when Kelley sidled up next to her.

“Okay that girl is definitely checking you out. She hasn’t stopped watching you juggle.” Kelley piped up.

“Will you let that go?” Tobin rolled her eyes.

“I would if she wasn’t headed this way.”

Before Tobin could reply, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Tobin turned around to be met with the face of the same brunette from the gym yesterday.

“Hi! I’m Jamie.” The girl stuck out her hand with a warm smile.

Tobin quickly sized her up. She was about Tobin’s height with blonde highlights in her brown hair, soft green eyes, and very lean.

“Yo, I’m Tobin.” She took the offered hand and smiled.

“Tobin? I don’t think I’ve heard of that before. It’s different. I like different.” Jamie flirted.

“Thanks. I like that it’s different. Although sometimes people call me Toby and I hate that nickname.” Tobin twisted her face and giggled.

“Toby isn’t that bad of a nickname.”

“It’s pretty bad. Anyway, this is my best friend Kelley. That tall scary looking one by the goal post is also my best friend and her girlfriend. Her name is Hope.” Tobin introduced the two.

“Nice to meet you Kelley!” Jamie smiled.

“Likewise. She’s really not that scary. She is a big old softie especially when it comes to me. You’ll meet her soon.” This caused all three to laugh.

Sure enough, Hope came strolling up and wrapped an arm around Kelley’s waist.

“Hey Babe. Who is your friend?” Hope looked over at Jamie and the girl shrunk a little despite Tobin and Kelley just telling her that Hope was harmless.

“Hope, this is Jamie. Jamie, Hope.” Kelley introduced.

“Nice to meet you Jamie.” Hope smiled and held out her hand and Jamie visibly relaxed as she shook Hope’s hand.

“Nice to meet you too Hope.”

Jamie was about to say something else when a shout of her name caused all 4 girls to turn their heads.

“Oh that’s my friend Brianna. I have to go but glad to meet you and hopefully we can all meet up and chill.” Jamie smiled at the group while she lingered her gaze on Tobin.

“Yeah sure. See ya around Jamie.” Tobin smiled as Jamie ran off towards her friend.

Hope and Kelley looked at each other before turning to Tobin.

“Really Tobs?” Kelley asked.

“What?”

“Jamie was totally trying to flirt with you.”

“Yeah she was.” Hope piped in.

“You two are ridiculous. She was just being nice and she said she wants ALL of us to meet up and chill.” Tobin defended.

“Whatever you say Tobin.”

Tobin rolled her eyes and started walking ahead of the two.

“Let’s grab food. I’m starving.”

Hope and Kelley looked at each other before following Tobin.

“Glad Alex isn’t here.” They whispered at the same time so Tobin wouldn’t hear and giggled.

 

The last day of the trip came and it was spent with a light field training and then free time to socialize with everyone. Since introducing herself, Jamie has been trying nonstop to befriend Tobin and it was working.

Tobin was oblivious to Jamie’s intentions and rolled her eyes and ignored Hope and Kelley every time they tried to tell her.

Despite all that, Kelley, Hope, Tobin, and Jamie huddled in a group and talked. Hope and Kelley had to admit that Jamie was really cool, nice and lived in the San Diego area. However, they were hyper aware of how Jamie reacted to Tobin and were cautious.

Jamie eventually ended up introducing her friend Brianna to the group along with new friends from the camp: Sara, Melany, Wendy, and Dana. The group of 9 stayed out until curfew forced them to part.

“It was great meeting you all and can’t wait for the next camp!” Breanne beamed as everyone went and gave hugs.

Jamie got to Tobin last and smiled wide at her.

“It was great meeting you Tobin! I can’t wait for the next camp. Maybe you can show me some of your tricks.”

“Yeah sure! I also can’t wait for you and everyone to meet Alex. This place is pretty sweet.” Tobin smiled unaware of Jamie’s flirty undertone or the quick flash of sadness when Tobin mentioned Alex.

However it was gone as quickly as it appeared and didn’t stop Jamie at all from wrapping her arms around Tobin’s middle and pulling her in for a tight hug that lingered a few seconds longer than new friends should hug.

Hope and Kelley watched the whole exchange but decided not to comment until they were safe in the room.

“You’re an idiot.” Kelley smacked Tobin as soon as the door shut.

“Ow dude. What do you mean?” Tobin yelped as she rubbed her arm.

“Oh I don’t know. How about Jamie and how she was flirting with you the entire camp?”

“Not this again. I told her I had Alex. Jamie is just friendly.” Tobin rolled her eyes.

“And you’re really oblivious.” Kelley countered.

“It’s amazing how naïve you are Tobs. Apparently Alex doesn’t matter. When you told her, her face fell for a second but then there was this fire in her eyes that screamed ‘I will make you forget about your girlfriend’” Hope piped in.

That got Tobin thinking.

_‘Hope’s really observant. If she noticed something, then maybe there was more meaning to Jamie’s words.’_

“For argument’s sake, let’s say she was flirting. There was nothing on my end and I was just being friendly. I will admit Jamie is pretty but she has nothing on Alex. My heart belongs to Alex and she will see that when we come back WITH Alex because I know Mr. Peters will offer her a spot.” Tobin stated proudly and Hope and Kelley decided to let it go.

They knew their friend was oblivious to other girls’ attraction towards her. Hell, Tobin and Alex are best friends and she was oblivious to Alex’s attraction for her at first. One time at a party, Alex and Tobin were dancing and Alex literally said “Tobin take me right now” and Tobin replied with “Sure Lex. Where do you want to go?”

So they dropped it and the three friends went to bed satisfied with the amazing time spent at the academy but ready to get home.

 

The trio got up the next morning and packed and headed back home to Santa Barbara.

Tobin turned on Hope’s street and just as she was about to pull into the driveway, Hope, Kelley, and their bags were already out of the car and running up the sidewalk before she could bring the car to a stop.

“Thanks for driving!” “Bye Tobs!” They simultaneously yelled before disappearing.

Tobin just chuckled as she backed out and headed for her second home.

When she got to the house, she parked the car and headed up the walkway to the front door. Just as she was about to knock, the door was already opening.

“Oh Tobin! You scared me dear.” Mrs. Morgan laughed as she playfully clutched her heart.

“Sorry Mom. Just got back from the CSA and wanted to see my favorite person before anyone else. So, hello!” Tobin showed off a wide charming smile.

Pam laughed and pulled Tobin into a tight hug. “Funny. I was just heading out to do some errands and won’t be back until later. Alex is upstairs and would you be a dear and lock the front door behind you? No one else is home and I don’t want anyone kidnapping my favorite daughter. Oh and I guess I don’t want anyone kidnapping Alex either.”

Pam winked before kissing the top of Tobin’s head and heading for the car.

“Bye mom!” Tobin called before locking the door and staring up the stairs from the bottom.

_‘Home alone with my girlfriend. Hmm.’_

Tobin smiled mischievously and headed into the big family TV room. She laid down on the lounger part of the leather sectional and made herself comfortable before taking her phone out and opening SnapChat. She made sure that she got some of the things in the Morgan family room in the background and smiled wide before sending a selfie to Alex.

She kept refreshing until finally she saw that Alex opened it. Not a second later, she heard hurried footsteps flying down the stairs.

“YOU’RE HOMEEEE!” Alex shrieked as she launched herself onto Tobin.

“UMPH! Miss me a little bit babe?” Tobin chuckled as she wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist.

“You have no idea.” She mumbled against Tobin’s neck.

The two sat in silence for a while with Tobin running her hands up and down Alex’s back and Alex breathing in Tobin against Tobin’s neck.

Alex kissed up Tobin’s flawless jaw line.

“How was the academy? Everything we thought and more?”

“The facilities are amazing and the training staff is fantastic and everyone is so good! I can’t wait to go back with you by my side.”

“Mmm I can’t wait to go and show them who Alex and Tobin really are.” Alex smiled before kissing Tobin.

The two lost themselves in each other for a while before breathing became a problem.

“Man I can’t wait to show you off to everyone.” Tobin purred as she traced patterns on Alex’s back.

“Especially to my new friends.” She mumbled that last part but Alex heard her.

She pulled up to look Tobin in the eyes and tilted her head in question.

“New friends?”

Tobin giggled a nervous laugh and tightened her hold on Alex.

“Yeah, the three of us met a group of cool girls. One of them in particular though, her name is Jamie, was a little too friendly. I didn’t notice it because I thought she was just being friendly. Kelley pointed it out and I just shrugged it off. But then Hope said something, and I was like oh maybe she wasn’t just a super friendly person.”

Alex sat up still straddling Tobin, but now had Tobin’s t-shirt bunched up in her fists and her right eyebrow was raised in a challenge.

“Jamie huh? She knows you have a girlfriend right?” Alex spoke slowly.

“Of course. I told her I couldn’t wait for everyone to meet you.”

Alex relaxed at Tobin’s words but a new intensity started to burn inside of her. She leaned down and started kissing Tobin. She bit her top lip and then her bottom which Tobin responded with granting the access Alex wanted. Alex kissed her breathless and Tobin let out a moan when she felt a hand on her chest.

Alex moved to Tobin’s pulse point and started to suck a little roughly.

“Did you get her number?” She challenged.

“N-No. I swear. Ask Hope and Kelley.” Tobin stuttered from the sensation of Alex’s mouth and hands.

Alex moved to lean her forehead against Tobin’s and moved her hands under her shirt to drag her nails up and down her sides , feeling the goosebumps rising.

“Did she touch you?” She whispered dangerously.

“No. No. Well yes and no.” Tobin blurted and regretted it because she didn’t want Alex to get the wrong idea.

Before she could backtrack, Alex dug her nails into Tobin’s hips and pushed her pelvis down into Tobin’s.

“It’s either yes or no Tobin. Did she or did she not touch you?”

Tobin clenched her eyes and craned her neck back. She was quickly losing control of her senses with a fiery Alex on the attack.

“Yes she did. But only to give me a hug goodbye. I’m yours and only yours.” Tobin found her voice.

Alex smiled for half of second and then it was gone. Tobin peeked her eyes open and noticed that the bright blues of her eyes were now almost navy with desire. That look started a fire inside of Tobin. She tried to wriggle so she could get the advantage but Alex pushed her hips down into Tobin’s again.

“She better not have.”

Alex bit Tobin’s neck and the licked it to soothe it.

“Not here.”

Alex scraped her teeth against Tobin’s collarbone.

“Not here.”

Her hands that were still under Tobin’s shirt ghosted around Tobin’s breasts, moved up and down her sides, traveled from hip bone to hip bone, around the small of her back, and then squeezed her ass.”

“None of these areas.”

Alex leaned down and attacked Tobin’s lips in a sloppy and urgent kiss as her hand found its way to the top of the waist band of Tobin’s shorts.

She pulled back just slightly so that their lips were still touching but she could speak.

“And Tobin?”

All Tobin could do was dumbly stare up at Alex. Alex smiled devilishly for a second before moving her hand past the band of her shorts and underwear and cupped Tobin’s center a little roughly causing the older girl to take a sharp intake of breath.

“Definitely not here.”

Tobin let out a loud moan that Alex muffled by attacking her lips again. She couldn’t take it anymore.

Tobin bucked her hips catching Alex off guard for just a second but it was all she needed. She flipped Alex so that now the younger girl was trapped under Tobin.

Tobin grabbed Alex’s wrists and pinned them above Alex’s head. She leaned her forehead against Alex’s and returned the favor by pushing her hips down into Alex’s this time.

“I wouldn’t dare let her touch me in ways you touch me. And I wouldn’t dare touch her in ways I touch you and you only. It was just a hug.”

Tobin leaned impossibly closer and whispered against the shell of Alex’s ear.

“What did I tell you about your jealousy?”

Tobin kissed her ear and then dragged her nose down Alex’s jaw before nudging her head to the side with her nose and kissing her neck.

“I’m going to have to finish the job I started before I left and reprimand you.”

Tobin gently bit the velvety smooth skin and Alex pushed up full force, knocking Tobin back on the couch. She quickly stood up and dragged Tobin to and up the stairs to her bedroom. She slammed Tobin against the wall just beside her bedroom door.

“Make me sorry.” She challenged causing Tobin to growl and push Alex off of her and into the room and slammed the door shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I tried to make everyone happy. Some said Tobin forgave too easily so how did I do making Alex sweat a little? Some also said they wanted another girl to seek Tobin's attention to make Alex jealous. I had no attention of doing that but then I was intrigued with the idea but had no idea how I wanted to fit it into the story. So this happened. Hope you all are continue to enjoy! :) PS.. I promise to put more O'Solo next chapter.


	10. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get the best friend back. I also promised you all O'Solo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't thank you all enough for all the comments and feedback so I will just continue to thank you all every time haha. 
> 
> Here we go!

Step. Step. Step. Swoosh!

Step. Step. Step. Swoosh!

Step. Step. Step. Swoosh!  


Kelley kicked ball after ball into the empty net at Roosevelt Park near her house. The field away from the school stadium was her sanctuary. There was no pressure of competition for positions and starting line ups. There was no pressure to be the best. There was no fear of failure. It was just Kelley, a ball and a net, music blasting through her headphones, and her inner peace.

She looked to the field for guidance.

This field is where she came to right after try outs for the high school team. She had been a nervous wreck and didn’t know if she was good enough to make the team. Kelley played confidently in defense and even managed to assist a goal. When it was time to switch teams and play on the same team and in front of the star keeper, Kelley lost her confidence and started to forget how to play. Hope had called a time out and ran over to Kelley and placed her hand on Kelley’s shoulder to give her words of encouragement and strategy.

Hope’s voice is what surprised Kelley first. This tall and intimidating girl with the ice blue eyes didn’t match the soft spoken voice.

Her second surprise was the soften expression that seemed to replace the resting bitch face. Hope squeezed Kelley’s shoulder as words of encourage flowed out her mouth that seemed to warm Kelley’s heart in a way that hot soup on a cold winter’s day warmed your stomach.

Kelley played even better than the first half of try outs.

When Kelley made the team, it was Roosevelt Park that was her destination instead of her home. However, she wasn’t at the park to celebrate her spot on the team. Kelley was there for a different reason.

It was the realization of possibly having feelings for the star keeper that caused Kelley to run straight to Roosevelt park and sprawl out in the middle of the freshly cut grass of the park’s soccer field.

She didn’t know what to do about the feelings bubbling in her chest. Could she really have more than platonic feelings for the badass keeper?

Sure Hope was bitchy and blunt and kept to herself. Hope was closed off and only let Carli in and appeared uninterested when new players tried out. That changed when Kelley walked into tryouts and seemed to ignite something in Hope and brought her to life.

Hope encouraged Kelley on her first day and gave her tips to play better. Kling’s first day in defense, Hope yelled at her for giving possession away near the box and leaving Hope exposed.

When Pinoe tried to steal some of Hope’s grapes at lunch one time, Hope slapped her hand away. Kelley tried to sneak one and Hope pretended to be distracted by her conversation with Carli as she subtly pushed her grapes closer to Kelley’s reach.

Or how about the time a male student was harassing Kelley about a date he wanted because she smiled at him in class and apparently gave him signals? Hope came and pushed the guy so hard that it was like he flew in slow motion like a matrix movie. He cleared three classroom doors before he finally skidded to a stop.

Maybe it was the way Hope always showed up to team parties but always opted out to sit afar to observe and occasionally talk to Carli. Now she sits with the other girls and participates in stupid pointless party games while staying up until 3 in the morning all because of wide, begging hazel eyes and pouty lips.

Everyone was glad that it wasn’t possible to send daggers through your eyes because, well, let’s just say there were would be quite a few less students at Santa Monica High. But Kelley was the exception. Those ice blue eyes that pierced your soul lit up with life every time she saw the bubbly ball of energy.

Kelley was quickly entranced by those eyes, the sharp jawline that could cut diamonds, the naturally squared shoulders with the rigid and defined muscles, and the hands that Pinoe had joked about being insured for a million dollars. According to Pinoe, that’s apparently what you’re supposed to do when you’re given a gift from God. Because not everyone is gifted hands that seemed to be magnetic to soccer ball material and really, what other explanation could there be for someone being that good at goal keeper?

And there is that voice again; commanding yet soft and makes you feel- oh shit. And right there in the middle of the field, Kelley realized she had more than platonic feelings for the star keeper. Then a glimmer of excitement and hope flashed across Kelley’s face because maybe Hope had these feelings too.

Roosevelt Park was also Kelley’s spot where her and Hope kissed, her escape when her and Hope fought, for when her siblings moved away to college, and when school soccer became too much to handle.

She also came here right after her trip with Hope and Tobin to The California Soccer Academy. Well after her and Hope got reacquainted with each other’s bodies because 5 days with no sex to them felt like 5 years.

So it seemed like the only logic place to go to think about her problem with a blue eyed striker she calls her best friend was Roosevelt field.

Kelley kept kicking balls for over an hour until sweat dripped down her forehead and her shirt clung to her muscles. She had one last round of kicks and she powered through it before collapsing at the penalty spot and looking up to the sky.

_‘What am I going to do? Alex wronged me and said horrible and ugly things. She questioned my integrity and value as a friend as a cover for her own fears and frustration. Why couldn’t she just talk to me? We talk about everything. I was the first person she confided in about her liking Tobin. I was there to talk her down from her hysteria about telling her parents about her feelings for our goofy best friend. But then again she tried to talk and apologize and I just blew her off. I was hurt and angry and wanted her to feel some of the hurt that she caused me. Shit we are best friends and best friends shouldn’t want to intentionally hurt each other. UGH WHAT DO I DO?!’_

Kelley laid there for a while until she felt a calming presence hover over her. She peeked an eye open up at the figure and smiled a huge goofy grin.

“I could be a kidnapper or murderer and you’re just lying there cool as ice.”

“I wouldn’t mind being kidnapped and tied up by you. I mean we have tried it before. Best sex of my life that night.” Kelley smirked up at the figure again and winked.

Hope chose to ignore her and elected to sit down and tug Kelley up and into her chest.

“Want to talk about it?” Hope whispered.

“What makes you think there is something to talk about? I could just be here to practice”

“This is your spot to think. We had a great experience at the Academy over break and your happiness was confirmed when we got home to my room if you know what I mean. So if you’re not here to reflect on the good, you’re here to reflect on the bad. Plus I saw how you looked longingly and sadly at Alex at school yesterday.” Hope stated matter of fact.

The two sat in silence for a while after that; Kelley in deep in thought and Hope mindlessly drawing patterns on Kelley’s stomach.

“I miss Alex.” Kelley mumbled a few minutes later.

“Then talk to her.” Hope countered.

“I know she was frustrated but she was mean and had no right to take it out on me. I didn’t ask for coach to favor me. I just wanted to play.”

“It was extremely wrong of her to act how she did but she was also frustrated.”

“Whose side are you on?!”

“Your side. I’m always on your side. And while standing on your side, I know how much it hurts you to not be talking to Alex. I’m not going to make excuses for Alex and her behavior because it was wrong and uncalled for. But she is human and makes mistakes and she did try to apologize. It’s okay to tell her you’re upset with her just like it is okay to also forgive her.”

Kelley turned her body sideways so she could look Hope in the eyes. The hard icy blue eyes were soft and sincere. Hope cupped Kelley’s cheek and ran the pad of her thumb back and forth across her cheekbone as she stared silently into Kelley’s hazel eyes.

Kelley melted into Hope’s touch and the tenderness of the moment. A side of Hope only she got to see; the hardened exterior of an introvert softened by the innocence of the boisterous extrovert.

Hope leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Kelley’s forehead and sighed contently.

“Talk to her. You’ll feel better.”

All Kelley could do was hum in response and snuggle further into Hope.

_‘Decision made.’_

 

Once the high of Tobin coming home from The CSA was over and school was back in session, she broke down and confessed to Tobin just how much she was hurting and missed the bubbly defender.

The two were cuddled up in Tobin’s bed after school watching a movie and relaxing. Tobin was starting to drift off, paralyzed by the rhythmic circles Alex was drawing on her abs when the movements stopped and Alex shifted to lay her head on Tobin’s chest and sighed.

Tobin peeked an open to see Alex staring up at her with glossy eyes and immediately frowned.

“Your eyes are gray. What’s wrong?” She whispered as she ran her fingers through Alex’s hair, making sure to lightly scrape her scalp.

“I know Kelley needs time but I’m starting to fear that I’m being too passive. She doesn’t seem any closer to wanting to talk to me.” Alex mumbled.

“You know better than I do that aggressive is not the way to get Kelley to do something. Well unless you’re Hope.” Tobin chuckled to try to get Alex to soften but received the opposite.

“I’m trying to be serious Tobin. This hurts.” Alex frowned and moved to roll off Tobin.

But Tobin was quicker and locked her legs around Alex to keep her in place.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I know you’re hurting and I was just trying to lighten the mood because I can’t stand to see you upset. I’m sorry and I won’t make jokes.”

Alex sighed and placed her ear over Tobin’s heart to listen to the strong and repetitive beats. Her heartbeat always calmed Alex down and it was one of her favorite ways to be intimate with Tobin. She liked to believe that if she listened long enough and intently enough, her heart would sync up with Tobin’s to beat simultaneously. Sometimes it was more stimulating than sex itself.

Tobin was raking her fingers though the silky waves trying to calm Alex when she suddenly felt cool wetness on her chest and heard a faint sniffle. All she could do was tightening her arms around Alex and wait for the girl to talk.

“What if she doesn’t miss me? What if I messed up so bad that I lost my best friend?” Alex whimpered.

Tobin’s heart broke at the dejected tone in Alex’s voice.

“Kelley is just hurt and she needs to sort out her thoughts and feelings before she comes and talks to you. You don’t want her saying anything untrue out of anger that she’ll regret do you? And there is no way she doesn’t miss you. I caught her staring at you yesterday and her eyes held nothing but sadness and longing for her best friend.”

Alex’s ears perked up at Tobin’s confession and moved to stare into Tobin’s eyes with big hopeful eyes.

“Really?”

Tobin melted at the life restoring into Alex’s eyes and the blue was coming back.

“Now there are those blue eyes that I fell in love with.” Tobin cooed and wiped Alex’s cheeks. “And yes. I know what I saw and I would never lie to you.”

Alex tried a small smile and shimmied up to bury her face in Tobin’s neck.

“I love you.”

“I love you too superstar.”

Alex’s breath started to even out as well as Tobin’s. They were just about to cross over to dreamland when a buzzing sounded on the night stand.

Alex groaned and reached over to grab her phone. She peered at the screen and abruptly sat up when she read the screen.

**New Message: Squirrel Emperor: Hey. Are you free at 7? Maybe we could meet up at Roosevelt Park?**

Tobin just raised an eyebrow as Alex furiously tapped on her phone.

**Alex: Of course. I will be there.**

Alex put her phone down and smiled widely at Tobin.

“Kelley wants to meet up tonight!” She exclaimed and then all of sudden it hit her.

“Omg she wants to meet up!” She yelled as she sprang up and started to pace.

_'Kelley wants to meet up. Omg is she going to forgive me and I get my best friend back? What if she doesn’t want to be friends anymore? No, no, no. That can’t happen. Shit.’_

Alex continued to pace when she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind. Tobin didn’t say anything. Just gently rocked the two of them back and forth and let the silence consume them. Alex immediately relaxed; it was an ability Tobin had that amazed her. Tobin could calm down Alex instantly no matter the situation. That’s why they worked so well together. They balanced each other out.

 

6:45 came and Alex got up to head to the door. She was nervous again.

“It will be okay. I’ll be right here waiting when you come back.” Tobin murmured in Alex’s ear as she wrapped her arms around Alex causing the taller one to sigh in relief.

Tobin gave her a kiss goodbye and a reassuring smile and Alex was out the door.

Alex was a nervous mess driving to the park. She was so nervous she almost ran a stop sign and then almost drove completely past the park entrance.

_‘Maybe I should have had Tobin drive me.’_

She searched the parking lot and spotted Kelley’s car and decided to park a few spots down from it. Taking a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, Alex got out of the car and headed towards the soccer field.

Alex spotted Kelley by the side of the goal juggling a soccer ball back and forth. She watched Kelley juggle for a while with her tongue poked out in complete concentration and then pop the ball in the air and kicked it in the goal.

“Nice shot.” Alex cautioned as she didn’t want to startle Kelley.

Kelley went to get the ball and then turned to face Alex.

“Thanks.” She gave back.

The two girls stood in awkward silence for a few minutes not knowing what to say. Alex was anxious on what Kelley had to say while Kelley was frustrated with herself because she was the one who asked to meet up and couldn’t find the words she wanted to say.

Alex shifted from foot to foot. She wanted so badly to start the conversation but remembered Tobin’s words and letting Kelley come to her first. So she not so patiently continued to shift waiting for the other girl to speak.

Her patience was finally rewarded.

“I’m sorry.” Kelley blurted.

Now Alex was confused.

_‘She is the one who is sorry? What?’_

Kelley frowned and tried again.

“I’m sorry for ignoring you when you were trying to apologize but I needed some time to think. You said some pretty fucked up things and it really hurt to hear my best friend say such horrible words to me.”

“Kelley, please believe me when I tell you that I never meant to hurt you. You’re right; I was selfish and angry and jealous I couldn’t play and I took all that and put it on you and that was incredible wrong. I was a terrible and unsupportive best friend when I should have and needed to be the complete opposite. I am so incredibly proud of you Kelley and I’m so sorry I couldn’t see that over my selfish ways. I swear I never meant to hurt you Kel. You’re my best friend.” Alex looked down and sniffed trying to will the tears to stay in her yes. “At least I hope you still are.”

Kelley was going to make Alex work for her forgiveness a little more but as she stared at the girl vulnerable and trying her hardest not to break down, the sight tugged on Kelley’s heart strings. It reminded Kelley of when Alex first admitted to liking Tobin. In that moment, she was done. She was done with the arguing. She was done with the silent treatment. And she was done trying to convince herself that Alex wronged her so much that she didn’t need her. Because truth be told- Kelley needed Alex.

“Alex?” She called softly waiting for her to look up.

Glossy blue eyes met soft hazel eyes.

“I believe you and I forgive you. I need my best friend.” Kelley smiled and it grew wider as she watched the forgiven apology register on Alex’s face.

Alex launched herself into Kelley and the clung to her in a death grip as she sniffled.

“We’re going to be okay.” Kelley stated confidently.

 

They were more than okay. Kelley and Alex were back to normal as if they hadn’t just gone through their roughest patch to date. And no one could be more relieved that the two were friends again than their girlfriends. Actually the team was pretty ecstatic.

Practice on Thursday, two days after the friends reconciled, was one of the best practices in a long time in Coach Warner’s eyes. The team was meshing better than he has ever seen and couldn’t be happier considering the first college game was that weekend.

Hope was on fire in goal, blocking everything and making saves no one should ever make successfully. Tobin was a powerhouse in the midfield nutmegging everyone in sight and sending perfect through balls to Alex who found the net every time. Kelley had found herself with no real set positon because Coach Warner was trying her in different positions. And with the look of pride and approval that crossed his face with Kelley’s success in each positon, she felt more confident that she wouldn’t be a permanent bench warmer.

Coach blew his whistle and rallied the girls to the center circle.

“I am so incredible proud of you girls and you just made my job in picking a starting eleven that much more difficult. Keep up the fantastic work and I will have a line up tomorrow after school. You’re free to go.”

Hope and Kelley said their goodbyes before turning to Tobin and telling her they would be over for movie night later and headed out of the locker room.

Kelley was unusually quiet and Hope was starting to worry.

“If you’re worried about the lineup, don’t be. You killed it in practice babe! It took a lot of will power to not take you right on the field.” Hope chanced a look at Kelley before turning back to the road and squeezed Kelley’s thigh.

Kelley thought for a moment and let out breath before squeezing Hope’s hand.

“Actually I’m okay. You’re right; I did do great in practice, Alex and I are friends again, and I feel really good about coach’s belief in me. Bring on Stanford!” Kelley fist pumped and then turned to Hope.

“And bring on sexy time!” Kelley winked causing Hope to laugh and step on the gas pedal just a little bit harder.

Kelley turned her attention out the window and let the radio fill the car.

_‘Please God. Good vibes only for Stanford.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! I really should have made Alex sweat but I'm a sucker for happy Alex and Kelley. Plus is real life, I absolutely hate conflict and end up always apologizing even if I'm not at fault. I know, bad habit.
> 
> Anyway, there was a suggestion for a little less dialogue and more emotions. I can't help it with the dialogue but I tried with more emotions so let me know how I did. Hope you're still enjoying this journey with me :)


	11. Stanford Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phew this is a long one. Enjoy!

A text message sent. A text message read. A text message ignored.

A text message sent. A text message read. A text message ignored.

A text message sent. A text message read. A text message ignored.

It is one thirty in the morning and Tobin’s eyes are burning and begging her to close them so she can go to sleep but her mind just won’t send the signals for her to shut down.

The messages eventually stopped saying read and stayed on ‘Delivered’ and Tobin didn’t know whether to be mad or worried so she was a little of both. She couldn’t find the forward anywhere earlier, forcing her to sit in panic and worry at home for the rest of the night praying for any sign of her girlfriend.

She sent her 20th text message before dropping the phone next to her on the bed and stared up at the ceiling in defeat.

_‘Where are you Lex?!’_

Her phone went off a minute later and she moved to read it but her movements are too fast and now she is sprawled out on the floor tangled in bed sheets.

**KO:** Have you talked to her yet?

Tobin wants to scream and throw her phone because she’s anxious and exhausted and now she’s just angry when her phone screen reads a name different than the one she needs to see.

She doesn’t want to answer back but she knows firsthand what it’s like to be ignored and she doesn’t want anyone else to feel what she feels.

She’s about to reply when a knock sounds on her balcony door and now Kelley is forgotten as Tobin drops her phone on the bed and moves to pull back the curtains.

Tobin’s greeted with a slumped over Alex whose eyes are cast down and arms wrapped herself to stop the shaking maybe from the rain pounding outside or maybe from the tears that are falling from her eyes.

All of the anger and exhaustion is suddenly gone as Tobin opens her balcony door and pulls a freezing Alex inside the house and into her arms.

Maybe a rain soaked Alex showing up at 2 in the morning will finally give an answer Tobin has been looking for since school ended.

   
**~12 Hours Earlier~**

_Alex woke up for what felt like the hundredth time and rolled over to look at her alarm clock._

_She groaned when she read 4:45 am and decided that that was all the sleep she was going to get so she might as well get up and get ready._

_7 am seemed to take years to arrive but the clock finally was on Alex’s side when her pocket vibrated._

_**Toby <3:** Open the door gorgeous._

_Alex smiled wide and picked up her bag before grabbing a pack of pop tarts and an apple and opening the door._

_“Your chariot awaits your highness.” Tobin bowed and looked up at Alex with a cheeky grin._

_“Good morning baby, here is your reward.” Alex giggled before pecking Tobin on the lips and handing her the package of strawberry pop tarts._

_“A beautiful girl AND pop tarts?! My life rocks!” Tobin fist pumped before kissing Alex again and grabbing her bag with one hand and Alex’s hand with the other and led them to the car._

_Alex giggled at her adorable girlfriend. Tobin was extremely easy to please; all she needed to be happy was Alex, a snack, and a soccer ball._

_The car ride was mostly silently aside from the radio softly playing in the background and Alex munching quietly on her apple. Tobin was drumming her fingers along the steering wheel while her other hand was being held captive by Alex in the forward’s lap._

_Tobin pulled into a parking spot just as Hope pulled into one right beside her. All of them got out of their respective cars and Kelley dramatically flung herself onto Alex causing Hope to roll her eyes playfully before fist bumping Tobin._

_The four friends made their way towards the school and into the quad to meet up with their friends before the start of the day. Everyone was anxious to see the starting lineup for the upcoming game this weekend, not to mention this game was the first of 2 college games._

_The day seemed to drag for everyone and once the bell signaled the end of the day, everyone on the team took off for the locker room._

_18 bodies pushed and shoved each other to see one 9x11 white piece of paper tapped to the outside of their coach’s office._

_Alex managed to wiggle her way through the crowd and to the front as her eyes scanned the paper._

_They scanned the paper once. No name._

_Then twice. Still no name._

_Then a third time. Still no name and her heart dropped when she saw the bottom of the list._

**_Goal: Solo_ **   
**_Defenders: Krieger, JJ, Broon, Kling_ **   
**_Midfielders: Heath, Lloyd, Brian, O’Hara_ **   
**_Forwards: Press, Leroux_ **

**_Substitutes: Engen, O’Reilly, Holiday, Morgan, Rapinoe, Harris, Wambach_ **

_Hot tears welled in her eyes before she could even finish the word ‘Substitutes.’_

_She pushed her way out of the crowd and slipped out of the gym before a certain tanned midfielder who was waiting at the back of the line to avoid potentially getting punched in the face could see the list and ran._

_She ran from the gym, down the halls, and out the front entrance. She didn’t know where she wanted to go. Tobin knew all of her thinking spots and would most likely find her. Alex had to think and she had to think quickly._

‘Shit. Tobin drove so I don’t have my car.’

_Suddenly she saw her friend Stacy, a friend outside of soccer that she met in biology, walking to her car. Alex took off and made it up to Stacy just as the blonde got her keys in the door handle._

_“STACY!” Alex yelped as she placed her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath._

_“Uh hey Al. What’s up?” The blonde asked confused as she opened her door and turned to look at Alex._

_“Do you think you can give me a lift home? I don’t know if you’re busy and I’m so sorry for just springing this on you and putting you on the spot but I need to-“Alex rushed out but Stacy cut her off._

_“Sure Al, hop in.” Stacy mused as threw her bag over the seat into the back and sat in the driver’s seat._

_Alex let out a sigh of relief and headed over to the other side of the car. One of the main reasons Alex got along with Stacy was because she never asked for information unless Alex voluntarily gave her the information._

_The two mindlessly chatted about their latest project in their biology class until they arrived at Alex’s house and wished her good luck at the game before driving away._

‘Now where to go?’

_Alex thought before ultimately just grabbing her keys, a bottle of water, and some trial mix and hopped in her car and took off._

_She ended up driving to a beach about an hour away that she knew Tobin wouldn’t think to look for her at._

_Alex arrived at the beach and headed towards the pier and set up camp under it and propped herself up against some rocks and stared out into the ocean._

_Hours past and Alex had refused to look at her phone after putting it on silent to block the constant arrival of Tobin’s messages._

_The sun had set long ago but Alex still didn’t move from her spot as she laid back and put her hands under head and stared up at the underside of the pier._

‘Don’t go back to that place. Don’t blame Kelley. Don’t yell at Tobin. It’s coach’s decision. He’s a smart guy. He must have me as a sub for a good reason… right?’

_Alex just didn’t understand._

‘I’m doing so well in practice and connecting with Tobin better than ever and my ankle is holding up extremely well. Coach constantly praises me for my hard work and efforts so why? Why am I not starting? I’m back to full health. I might even be sharper than I was before this stupid injury. So why wasn’t my name next to Sydney’s or Press’?’

_That was the kicker; Kelley was starting but she wasn’t at forward. So there was no reason Alex shouldn’t be starting tomorrow._

_Then the anger came._

_Coach didn’t believe in her anymore. He told Mr. Peters that he had full intentions on playing her in the college games but failed to mention she wasn’t a starter._

‘Oh god, Mr. Peters!’

_Then it was more than just anger. It was rage in its rawest form._

_She picked up some shells and hurled them at the posts of the pier._

‘My second chance at the Academy? GONE!’

_Throws shells._

‘My chance at making it pro and playing with Tobin? GONE!’

_Throws more shells._

‘Coach took everything away from me. He knew Mr. Peters was going to be at the games to give me another look. HE KNEW. HE FUCKING KNEW!’

_Alex threw shell after shell watching them explode into tiny pieces as they came in contact with the surface of the support beams._

_She bit her lip hard to will away the tears but it was no use. She had bitten too hard and the taste of copper filled her mouth as hot tears cascaded down her face at an alarming rate._

_Suddenly her tears were pouring out faster and harder and she was so worked up that the breath she was trying to catch started to choke her and caused her to hyperventilate._

_She fell to her hands and knees and begged herself to calm down and just when it seemed darkness was inevitable, she found the strength to inhale a large gasp of air and she fell to the side._

_Alex rolled onto her back and silence engulfed her aside from her staggering breaths as she started to calm herself down._

_Then she started to feel raindrops hit her face but she couldn’t find the strength to get up and head home even though she knew that she should._

_It was getting late and knew she was being stupid and reckless. She didn’t tell Tobin where she was going and she had to meet her team and coach at the school at 9 am to head to Stanford; yet here she was recovering from a panic attack and stuck in the rain without any motivation to get up and head back._

_A little while later, she finally found the strength to pick herself up from the sandy floor and head back home. It was late, she was soaking wet, the rain wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down, and the chatter of her teeth and the shake in her bones told her it would be complete self-destruction if she stayed out any later. She had been reckless enough already to last her a lifetime._

_It’s 1:30 in the morning by the time she pulls into her driveway and she’s exhausted mentally and physically but her house doesn’t bring her comfort. She puts her car in reverse and heads back out into the world once again._

_This time she’s only 5 minutes away in familiar territory- the jet black mazda with the white scuff mark on the front left fender from Alex’s Benz when she was pretending to hit Tobin in the school parking lot and actually did hit her- in the driveway tells her so._

_She knows it’s late, but she’s exhausted so she’s tempted to knock on the front door and risk waking up the other occupants of the house. But somewhere in her mental debate between right and wrong, the thought of Tobin’s strong and safe arms wrapped around her provides her enough strength to head to the back and start to climb Tobin’s balcony._

  
  **~Present Time~**

“Shh. Shh. It’s okay babygirl. I’m right here.” Tobin coos trying to calm down the shaking and whimpering girl.

“I-I-I’m s-sorry.” Alex forces out through chattering teeth.

Tobin doesn’t say anything; just picks up Alex bridal style and carries her over to her bathroom and sits her on the toilet. She starts the shower and turns up the heat before turning back to Alex.

“Let’s get you cleaned up and warm.”

She helps Alex stand up and out of her clothes before helping her into the shower and is about to turn to get her a change of clothes before she feels Alex grab her wrist and tugs her into the shower, clothes and all, with her.

Tobin doesn’t protest and stands under the hot running water holding Alex. She feels the younger girls knees start to buckle and holds her tighter to keep her from falling.

She gently sits Alex on the shower floor before twisting and turning gently to sit behind her and tugs Alex into her chest. Alex moves as much sideways as the shower space allows and buries her face into Tobin’s necks and cries.

She feels stupid and dramatic for acting this was just because she didn’t get the nod to start for the game tomorrow but the start means more than just playing from minute one of a game.

So much was riding on these two college games and every minute counts for Alex’s future. She wanted, no needed, to prove she was a starter and a game changer. She was gifted a rare second chance for a spot at the place that has kick started so many careers of the legends of the women’s game.

Without soccer, Alex had nothing. She had no back up plan. Sure she knew what she was going to study in college but that was only details to a bigger picture. She felt it in her soul that she was going to be a soccer player. She has no interest in using her Political Economy knowledge. The only knowledge she was going to use was her soccer knowledge.

Now it seemed like Alex needed a whole new game plan. Like she had to rewire her brain and short circuit her soccer knowledge and jumpstart her political econ knowledge. That scared the hell out of her.

Tobin broke the silence a few minutes later by gently unwrapping Alex from her and standing up to peel off her soaked clothes. Once her clothes were discarded to the floor, she gently helped Alex stand up and wrapped her arms around her.

“I’m going to change and get you some of my clothes to wear for bed and then I will be right back. Will you be okay to finish up in here by yourself?” Tobin asked gently as she rubbed Alex’s back.

Alex nodded and kissed Tobin’s neck before pulling away to get cleaned up.

Tobin quickly changed before coming back with a change of clothes.

Alex finished and stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel Tobin offered her around herself to dry off.

“One pair of my favorite boxers, a t-shirt, my favorite black Nike hoodie, and one girlfriend ready to snuggle at your service.” Tobin flashed a timid smile that grew bright and wide when Alex offered a tiny smile in response.

Tobin left Alex to change and got into bed to wait. She knew they had to talk but she wanted to make sure Alex was okay first.

Alex came out a few minutes later and immediately got into bed and snuggled into Tobin’s side. Tobin wrapped them in her comforter and gently rubbed her back.

Just as Alex’s breathing started to even out, Tobin’s smooth voice broke the silence.

“We have to talk about it.” She stated simply but gently.

“It’s stupid.” Alex sighed and tried to hide further in Tobin’s neck.

“Nothing is stupid when it comes to your feelings Lex. Where did you go? You ignored me again.” Tobin stated in a sad tone. She didn’t want to make Alex feel worse but they promised each other they would always communicate their feelings especially after the whole Alex/Kelley injury thing.

Alex gulped at the hurt in Tobin’s voice and knew it wasn’t fair to her. She shifted so her head was on Tobin’s chest over her heart and took a deep breath.

“I thought I was going to get the start. I wanted the start. This was my second chance with Mr. Peters and if he sees me as a sub, what kind of message does that send him?”

“Being a sub isn’t going to make or break Mr. Peters’ decision. He already knows you have talent and he knows you’re coming back from injury. Plus coach told him he has full intentions of playing you so you shouldn’t be so worried.”

“But I am worried babe. This is my shot to get into the Academy. It’s my shot to kick start my career into being a professional soccer player. I want to be a professional soccer player with you right by my side. I don’t have a plan B and that scares the hell out of me.”

Tobin took her free hand and moved it to under Alex’s chin so she would look at her.

“Do you know what I love most about you? It’s your drive and determination to go after what you want. You never give up and never settle for anything less. That’s how I know that you being a sub for tomorrow’s game is going to motivate you and not hinder you. When you set your mind to something, there is no changing your mind. I know you’re going to be something great. You’re not going to just be a professional soccer player. You’re going to be THE professional soccer player; the one that everyone looks up to and knows that nothing can stop them from achieving their dreams. I will be right there with you nutmegging opponents and assisting your goals.”

Alex blushed and tried to hide her face but Tobin wouldn’t let her look away.

“I personally think you being a sub won’t be so bad tomorrow and do you know why? Because of you’re going to come off the bench and you’re going to be a game changer. You’ll be such a game changer that it won’t matter if you’re starting or a sub because you’ll be proving that Mr. Peters was right in scouting you for the Academy.”

“But what if I fail?” Alex asked in a quiet voice.

“Because I won’t let you fail. I will be here every step of the way.” Tobin kissed the side of her. “Besides, I kind of owe you.”

Alex looked up at Tobin and quirked an eyebrow.

“You owe me?”

“Well yeah. I’ve only seen you fail in life one time and that was when you failed to resist my charm because here we are. So it’s kind of my fault your perfect record is tainted” Tobin winked causing Alex to giggle and playfully slap Tobin.

“Way to ruin a cute moment. I’m starting to resist you right now.” Alex challenged and started to move off Tobin but Tobin tightened her grip.

“NO! NO! I can’t be responsible for another Alex Morgan fail.”

Alex just giggled and sunk further into Tobin’s side.

“I love you.”

“I love you too and I can’t wait to take on the world with you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You and Me. Together.” Tobin stated confidently and proudly.

“Together sounds perfect.” Alex smiled with bright blue eyes.

 

Tobin’s alarm went off a mere 5 and half hours later at 7:30 and Alex wanted to die from being so tired from the eventful day before.

But she had no one to blame but herself and she was going to learn from her mistakes. She also had to thank God that the actual game wasn’t until tomorrow.

Tobin drove them to school and no sooner that Alex stepped one foot out of the car, Kelley was clinging onto her for dear life.

“Are you okay? Well of course you’re okay since you’re right here but oh my god I was so worried! At first I thought you were mad at me because I was starting and you weren’t but then I wasn’t at forward so I was like I don’t think she is mad. And then Tobin said you were ignoring her too and I felt a little better, sorry Tobs! Then Tobin texted me saying you were safe in her bed and then I was like, ewww Tobin, too much information, but then I told her I was relieved because you were safe and then-“

“KELLEY!”

Kelley stopped in her tracks and looked up at Alex with big hazel eyes while Tobin and Hope giggled, clearly amused at the two.

“You were rambling. Thank you for caring about me and no I am not mad at you. I’m super proud you got the start and I can say that honestly. Now let’s go kick some Stanford butt!”

The four friends joined the rest of their friends and teammates and coach and loaded onto the coach bus to start the journey to Stanford.

5 minutes was all it took for Alex’s eyes to start drooping and Tobin lifted her arm and Alex dove in not wasting any time to snuggle in.

When the bus finally pulled up to Stanford, Kelley noticed both Alex and Tobin asleep and took it upon herself to be their alarm clock.

She pulled her legs up and into her chest then starting kicking their chairs violently.

“EARTHQUAKEEEEE” She yelled.

Tobin shot up which caused Alex who was sleeping in her lap to fly into the window causing everyone including Hope to bust out laughing.

“Oh my god babe I am so sorry! Kelley you jerk!” Tobin yelled before checking on Alex.

“I’m okay babe. Kelley watch yourself!” Alex glared.

Coach Warner led them to the building they were assigned to stay in for the weekend and told them the layout for the rest of the day that consisted of training, team dinner, some down time, and an early night to make sure the girls were rested and ready for the game.

The team woke up the next morning to have breakfast and have a pre game meeting before heading over to the field.

Kelley told Hope she had to talk to Alex and that she would see her in the locker room. Hope pouted but gave her a kiss and wandered over to Carli to walk with her and Kelley made her way over to Alex and Tobin.

Kelley waited until Hope was a good amount ahead before smirking at Alex and Tobin and took off running and jumped on Hope’s back.

“Onward my trusty steed!” Kelley bellowed as she pointed towards the away locker room.

“Kelley what the? Get off.” Hope tried to sound tough but couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice.

“Don’t act like you hate it. I’ve seen you gallop around with her on numerous occasions.” Carli piped in from Hope’s side laughing.

“Yeah! There is nothing to be ashamed of Hopey Bear.” Kelley cooed from Hope’s back.

“Shhhh. The team will hear you!” Hope shushed the two girls.

“Oh Please. It’s no secret you are practically putty in Kelley’s hands… _Hopey Bear._ ” Carli smirked before speed walking away from the duo before Hope could retaliate.

Hope tried to protest but knew Carli was right and only grumbled as she adjusted Kelley so she could get a firmer grip and not drop her causing the freckled defender to tighten her grip and squeal in delight.

While everyone at school believed Hope was the bitch faced goal keeper who was colder than ice, everyone on the team knew Kelley had Hope wrapped around her finger and was a big teddy bear for the bubbly defender.

The girls all got changed and did their pregame rituals before it was time to head to the field.

Once they stepped out on the field, they were shocked with how much silver and blue filled the stands. Not only was there a lot of blue and silver, it was more than just family of the players. Students and even some teachers had made the 5 hour trip to support their girls, proving just how important sports, mainly soccer, were to Santa Monica High.

Everyone huddled around coach by the visitor’s bench and Abby stepped in the middle of the circle.

“I’m not here to make you nervous. I’m not here to worry you. I’m here to motivate you. We don’t have points or a state championship on the line today. Today, we have something even more important and valuable at stake. We are playing for our pride. We are about to play college level soccer where stars get drafted for pro and even greater, the national level. This is the first of two college games and we want everyone to know who we are. I know some of you want to play here after high school and this is your chance to make yourself known. Go out there and put your stamp on that field and make sure Stanford knows your name so they don’t even have to think twice about putting you on the team. For everyone else, make sure Stanford knows your name as well and realize that just because you’re not in Cardinal red, doesn’t mean you’re going to roll over like a dog for them. Today we aren’t playing for metal. Today we are playing for the pride that validates the blood, sweat, and tears we have shed to become the players we are today.”

Abby looked around the whole group and noticed everyone bouncing in place fired up from her speech.

“Now let’s go out there and teach them our names. Sharks on three!”

“ONE. TWO. THREE. SHARKS!”

Everyone hooted and hollered as starters stormed the field and bench players took a seat.

Alex plopped down next to Ashlyn and smiled when she saw Tobin walk over and leaned down to connect their foreheads.

“You’re going to be a game changer.” Tobin whispered before kissing Alex shortly but passionately before running off to take position.

The ref blew the whistle and Press kicked off to Sydney.

It was a hard fought battle from one end of the field to the other. Stanford was holding most of the possession but SMHS was matching everyone step for step.

Stanford had a good look at goal in the 35th minute when Kling misjudged a clearance and number 15 was right behind her to take full advantage of the 1v1 with Hope.

Number 15 faked a shot and sent Hope to left and smirked before the ball even left her foot as she shot right. However, Hope ninja rolled and popped up at the last second and pushed the ball away with an outstretched hand at the last possible second to send it out for a corner.

The Stanford player just stood in complete disbelief as Kelley launched herself onto Hope who brushed herself off and smirked at the player before catching Kelley.

The SMHS bench went through the roof and matched the screams of the visiting fans. Even Stanford fans clapped for Hope because skill like that doesn’t go unrecognized.

The ref blew for half time and the girls retreated into the locker room.

“How. The Fuck. Did you do that?” Alex asked in astonishment once she saw the keeper.

“Being the best goalkeeper in the world is how she did it! I’m so proud baby!” Kelley beamed as she hung off of Hope’s right side.

Hope kissed Kelley’s temple and looked back at Alex.

“I actually have no idea how I got to it. I guess it was just instincts with a shit ton of luck.” Hope laughed.

The teams came back out and Stanford kicked off to a slightly quieter crowd. No one in the home crowd expected Hope to have the skill she did and now were worried that their pride and joy soccer team were in trouble.

Their worries didn’t ease when the clock hit the 68th minute and they were still at a stalemate.

Coach Warner looked to his bench and knew he needed to make a tactical move. He eyed all the girls before looking to his assistant and going over some position notes.

“Morgan you’re up!” Coach called and Alex jumped from her seat and ripped off her penny and headed over to her coach.

“We’re aiming for more attacking power. I’m taking out Kling so tell O’Hara to move to left back. Do your thing Morgan!” Coach instructed as she walked over to the official and handed her the paper and waited until the ball went out of play.

“Leaving the game in the 71st minute, number 22, Meghan Klingenberg. Replacing her is number 13, Alex Morgan.”

Alex gave Kelley the instruction, who saluted her before running deeper into their half as Alex turned to mark number 25.

Alex came in on a SMHS mistake so she watched with unblinking eyes as the Stanford player threw the ball back into play to her marker.

As soon as the ball left the player’s hands, Alex cut in front of her marker and flicked the ball behind her where Carli was. Carli chested the ball down and started to charge down the field.

Stanford’s number 8 came sliding in but Carli had seen her before the player went to ground and kicked the ball to Tobin and jumped over the sliding player.

Tobin nutmegged her marker and crossed the ball to a running Alex who didn’t even let the ball touch the ground before slamming it towards the keeper and into the net.

Goal in the 73th minute by Santa Monica High’s number 13, Alex Morgan. Assist by number 17, Tobin Heath.

The Stanford crowd was stunned into silence that Alex had scored only 2 minutes after coming onto the field while the visiting fans erupted in cheers. Alex ran towards the corner flag and karate kicked it before throwing her hands in the air. Tobin was to her first and scooped her up and twirled her around before the rest of the girls swarmed them for a group hug.

Stanford kicked off again and now the home crowd was worried. Alex had scored in two minutes of coming on; something their team couldn’t do even after 73 minutes.

Unfortunately for them, their fears were about to get worse.

Number 15 for Stanford stripped Moe of the ball and started charging towards goal. Ali tried sliding tackling but the player cut back and avoided the tackle. Number 42 had JJ occupied and Becky was back by Hope for reinforcement but the ball never reached them.

Kelley had sprinted towards 15 and slid across the grass and poked the ball away from her feet. Kelley popped up like she would on her board in the ocean and kicked the ball to an awaiting Tobin.

Tobin took off and just as she was approaching an opponent, she rainbow kicked the ball over them and met the ball on the other side before running again.

“TOBIN!” Alex screamed and Tobin launched the ball without even looking for Alex knowing the taller girl will connect with it. It’s one of the reasons why they were the dynamic duo.

The ball landed perfectly for Alex and she ran towards the keeper who came off her line and Alex chipped the ball up and over into the back of the net.

Goal in the 85th minute by Santa Monica High’s number 13, Alex Morgan! Assist by number 17, Tobin Heath.

Alex ran full speed at Tobin who turned just before Alex jumped so she could catch her on her back before taking off towards the bench to high five the rest of the team that wasn’t playing.

The game ended seven minutes later and the Stanford players stared in disbelief that a high school team beat them.

Coach rallied up the girls before praising them beyond belief and telling them they were going out to dinner to celebrate before turning in early because they were leaving early the next morning for home.

Alex was collecting her stuff when she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind.

“I told you that you were going to be a game changer.” Tobin cooed before kissing behind her ear.

“Thank you for believing in me.” Alex smiled as she turned in Tobin’s arms.

Before Tobin could reply, someone cleared their throat and the girls broke apart and turned to see Mr. Peters standing next to them.

“Hello ladies. I must say what a game that was.” Mr. Peters smiled at the duo.

“All thanks to this superstar right here. She really changes the dynamic of the team for the better. I know she makes me play better.” Tobin grinned as she squeezed Alex’s hand.

“I couldn’t agree more with you Tobin on how she changes the team dynamic. I know you’re disappointed in not starting Alex but even players like Ronaldo and Messi don’t always start. I’m looking forward to the Berkeley game. Have a great day girls and awesome job out there.” Mr. Peters offered one last smile before heading off towards the parking lot.

Alex let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and turned towards Tobin who was smirking at her.

“He basically said you were a game changer. I wonder who else was smart enough to say that.”

“Go ahead and say I told you so and gloat how you were right.” Alex scoffed and playfully rolled her eyes.

Tobin’s smirk softened into a warm smile as she stepped closer to Alex.

“I don’t want to gloat for the simple fact of being right. I want to gloat for the meaning of being right.”

She lifted Alex’s chin so she could look into the electric blue eyes she fell in love with.

“I truly believed you were going to change the game for us. I believed that we were going to see the great Alex Morgan and boy did she not only show up, but she delivered big time. They couldn’t score for 73 minutes. You scored in two. TWO. While soccer is a team sport, today you single handedly changed the dynamic of the team to give us the win. And when everyone that was at the Stanford game talks about it, they are going to be talking about the girl who scored against them not once but twice when they couldn’t get one. I want to gloat because that girl is my girlfriend; my sexy and talented girlfriend who is going to take over the soccer world and make a name for herself. My girl is a superstar and Mr. Peters agrees with me. He might as well have offered you the spot at the Academy today instead of making you sweat it out until Berkeley next weekend.”

Alex stared at Tobin and melted. The love and honesty radiating through those pools of honey made Alex weak in the knees and she would have fallen to the ground by now if Tobin wasn’t holding her up.

In that moment it didn’t matter that she didn’t get the start. Hell, it didn’t even matter that she was MVP of the game with her two goals. All that mattered was the love in Tobin’s eyes and the belief in her words.

“You really think so?” Alex whispered afraid to speak any louder.

Tobin swiped her thumb across Alex’s cheek and leaned in until their lips were just touching.

“I’m as confident of this as much as I was confident of myself the first time I told you I love you.” She whispered before kissing Alex sweetly.

With Tobin’s whispered confession against her lips and the shiver down her spine, for the first time, Alex truly believed she was going to make it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you all think? Will Alex start against Berkeley? Will Peters offer her the Academy spot? How are you liking this? Hope you're enjoying :)


	12. Berkeley Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fast forwarding straight to the second game to speed the story along. Getting to the end here! Enjoy.

Alex was in her last class of the day, English, working on the essay assignment left on the board by her teacher. She had managed to breeze through the first 2 paragraphs when her mind started to wander.

The roster for the Berkeley game was being posted today and Alex was surprised she made it this far in the day productively. But as the clock slowly ticked closer and closer to the end of the school day, the more her anxiety rose.

Alex’s heart was pounding inside her chest and her leg was bouncing up and down so fast, she was surprised none of her classmates or teacher had noticed the mini earthquake that Alex could cause if she kept up her actions.

Tobin, however, did notice and she glanced up from her own paper and took in the sight of her anxious girlfriend. She reached over and placed a hand over Alex’s thigh which immediately stilled the shaking limb and caused the forward to look up.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m sure you’ll get the start.” Tobin whispered with a gentle smile.

“Easy for you to say; you’re a regular starter.” Alex sighed and frowned. “I’m sorry, I’m just anxious.”

“Hey now, you’re too pretty to frown. You’re going to be fine so show me that heart stopping smile.”

Alex blushed hard but smiled up at Tobin before shyly turning away and Tobin swears she falls in love all over again.

She stares a little longer silently thanking God for blessing her with one of his angels when Mrs. Clarkson catches Tobin in her daydream and clears her throat.

“Ms. Heath! Pay attention to your essay and not Ms. Morgan or I will move you to _**the chair**_ again.” Mrs. Clarkson threatened.

Tobin paled and immediately tore her gaze from Alex and looked down at her paper.

“No! No! Essay. Got it Mrs. C!” Tobin stuttered causing the class, including Alex, to snicker.

Mrs. Clarkson desperately tried to keep the smile threatening to appear off her face and went back to grading papers.

It was no secret that Tobin seemed to charm every teacher she encountered. There was actually a fight between Mr. Hagen and Mrs. Wexler last year on who would get Tobin in their math class.

Mrs. Clarkson was no different which is why it was so hard for her to actually punish Tobin last month when it seemed like Tobin couldn’t pay attention even if her life depended on it. She kept staring at Alex and trying to talk to her despite multiple warnings from the teacher.

Finally, Mrs. Clarkson had to reluctantly put her foot down and try to fool the other students into thinking that Tobin wasn’t highly favorited and moved her to _**the chair** **;**_ a desk in the first row right in front of the teacher’s desk, and far away from Alex.

Tobin spent 2 days in that desk before the pitiful just kicked puppy look on Tobin’s face broke Mrs. Clarkson’s resolve. Before she could finish her sentence, Tobin was in her old seat, book opened, and hands folded looking attentively at Mrs. Clarkson with a cheeky smile.

10 minutes later the bell signaled for the end of the day and the students all rushed to pack up and leave.

Alex jumped out of her seat and shoved everything into her backpack before bouncing on her feet waiting for Tobin.

Tobin smirked and decided to slowly put her stuff away, slowly zipper her backpack, and slowly stand up to stretch.

Alex glared at her and put her hands on her hips causing Tobin to laugh before reaching for Alex’s bag and hand and heading out of the classroom.

The two made it to the gym and Alex decided to hang in the back with Tobin, fearing if she let go of her hand she would pass out.

They waited out the usual brawl and Tobin squeezed her hand and gave her a soft smile when it was their turn to look at the list.

“I can’t look. Can you do it Toby?” Alex pleaded as she hid in Tobin’s neck.

Tobin kissed her response against Alex’s temple and shuffled the two of them up to the list and read the lineup out loud with commentary.

**Goal: Harris- “Alright Ash!”**   
**Defenders- Krieger, JJ, Broon, O’Hara- “No surprise.”**   
**Midfield- Heath, Lloyd, Holiday, HAO- “Sweet.”**   
**Forward- Abby “Cool.”**

Alex deflated when she didn’t hear her name but perked up in confusion when Tobin read only one forward.

“Only one forward?” Alex wondered aloud and looked up at Tobin who had a huge grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Ready to take on Berkeley…” Tobin paused. “Together?”

Alex’s smile grew as she pushed off Tobin and faced the list.

**Forward- Abby, Alex**

Alex whipped around to Tobin whose arms were opened wide and launched herself at her girlfriend.

“I’m starting!” Alex shrieked as she wrapped her arms and legs around Tobin and buried her face in her neck.

Tobin secured her grip and folded her hands under Alex’s butt to hold her up.

“You’re starting.” Tobin beamed with pride.

Alex pulled back to look at Tobin and the smile that overtook her face made Tobin melt and almost drop Alex. These were one of the moments Tobin treasured and loved the most; pure and unadulterated happiness. It was one of Tobin’s favorite looks on Alex.

“This calls for a celebration.” Alex smirked as she rested her forehead against Tobin’s.

“Oh yeah?” Tobin challenged as she kissed the corner of Alex’s mouth.

“Yup. We should go home now. We’ll see everyone tomorrow when we leave for Berkeley.” Alex winked before kissing Tobin and taking her bottom lip between her teeth when she pulled away causing the middy to let out a low moan.

“Yeah we should go. Like now.” Tobin breathed as she grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled the forward out the door.

 

**_*Meanwhile*_ **

Kelley was usually a very observant person especially when it came to Hope but right now she couldn’t read the taller girl.

Kelley was conflicted; she was happy to get another start but Hope was actually benched for the game. She carefully approached her girlfriend and sat down silently next to her staring down at her hands.

“It’s weird when you’re still and quiet. You usually are like the energizer bunny. Or I guess you could say energizer squirrel.” Hope attempted a smile but it didn’t reach her eyes and the attempted joke fell flat.

Not saying anything, Kelley kept staring down at her hands trying to figure out how to approach the subject without upsetting Hope. She heard Hope sigh and felt a hand on her thigh.

“It’s okay to be happy that you are starting another game. I told you that you are a star.”

Kelley finally looked up at Hope and saw the swirl of conflicted emotions behind Hope’s icy blue eyes. She was genuinely happy for Kelley but upset that she would be on the bench for the game against Berkeley.

“I have nothing against Ash. I mean we are all friends after all but it’s just weird not to see you in net and if I’m upset about it, I can only imagine how you feel.”

Hope sighed and turned fully toward Kelley and grabbed her hand and played with her fingers.

“I’m happy for Ash that she is getting playing time and she deserves to see minutes but it’s also okay for me to be upset that I’m not playing. It’s okay to have conflicting emotions; just like I told you it was okay to be upset with Alex but also wanting to forgive her.”

Kelley snuggled into Hope and let out a sigh.

“I’m going to miss playing in front of you.”

“I am too. Now I can’t stare at that great ass of yours.” Hope smirked.

Kelley pulled back to smack Hope and her heart swelled when she finally saw Hope with a smile that reached her eyes.

“But really. I’m okay taking a break and I will be cheering for the team, especially you, from the sidelines. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to just watch you play and freely enjoy it without having to worry about an opponent’s counter attack. It’s definitely going to be a welcomed change.”

Hope caressed Kelley’s cheek with her thumb before placing a gentle kiss to her forehead followed by a passionate kiss to her lips. Kelley was still in a daze when they pulled apart and all she could do was smile at Hope and believe anything that came out of her keeper’s mouth.

 

The next morning, Hope pulled into the parking lot the same time as Tobin again. She helped Kelley out of the car before leaning on the side waiting for Tobin and Alex to join them.

Tobin jumped out of the car and ran to Alex’s side to help her out before dutifully going to her trunk and retrieving their suitcase and backpacks.

“Yo Solo you look dead. Decided to party hard since you only have to train this weekend?” Tobin smirked as she noticed the tired look on Hope’s face.

“Funny Heath; you know how serious I take soccer. I just didn’t get enough sleep last night because _someone_ kept trying to take my pants off.” Hope glared at Kelley.

“Okay too much information Solo.” Tobin shuttered as she covered her ears.

“Well you could have gotten enough sleep if you just let me have my way!” Kelley challenged.

“You know I can’t control myself and I don’t want you tired and lose your starting spot.” Hope fought back.

“Okay, wow. Definitely too much information so we will see you on the bus. Come on babe.” Tobin complained as she gathered all of her and Alex’s bags and hurried off with Alex in tow.

Kelley and Hope busted out laughing as Hope gathered their bags and grabbed Kelley’s hand.

“You know, she acts so prudish sometimes when she is the biggest horn ball out of us all when it comes to baby horse.” Kelley mused causing Hope to laugh again and nod her head in agreement.

 

The team headed to Berkeley and had a light training and called it an early night.

Hope had to fight Kelley off again but the usually pushy defender threw in the towel when Hope threatened to hold out longer than just the weekend.

All the girls piled into the away locker room the next afternoon after warm-ups to wait for line ups. Alex was curled up in her locker doing visuals while Tobin was messing around with ARod and Cheney with occasional glances over towards her girlfriend.

Hope had gotten dressed and just sat back talking to Carli with her hands behind her head and all stretched out.

She had finally gotten over the initial upset of not playing and decided to fully embrace a game off. Her shoulder had been hurting her the past 2 weeks but of course she wasn’t going to tell Kelley. She didn’t want the training staff to find out and telling Kelley would basically be telling the training staff. She loved the girl with absolutely everything in her, but she did not know the meaning of the word secret.

Abby stood up on a bench and cleared her throat to gather her team’s attention.

“I’m not going to make this speech long because I don’t need to remind you of the important of this game or what is at stake. I just want to remind you that I am so proud of each and every one of you because I can never express that enough. Now let’s go out there and show them what Santa Monica High is all about!”

“Sharks on three. One. Two. Three. Sharks!”

Everyone clasped their hands together and ran out of the locker room to meet up with their coach for final instructions.

When the girls walked out, they were amazed that they had as many, maybe even more fans at this game than they had at the Stanford game. All anyone could see was a huge sea of blue and silver and all the girls were riled up and ready to go.

Tobin crept up behind Alex and wrapped her arms around her waist as soon as she was done doing her handshake with Sydney.

“I’ll miss you-oh wait. You’re coming with me to the field.” Tobin whispered as she kissed the side of Alex’s neck causing the forward to giggle.

“You’re such a dork but I love you and god does it feel good to start with you again.” Alex smiled as she turned in Tobin’s arms.

“Don’t miss me too much Hopey bear.” Kelley smiled sweetly as she clung to her keeper.

“Impossible not to.” Hope smiled back as she kissed Kelley good luck and glared at Tobin and Alex who were next to them who most definitely heard the pet name and were smirking. “Not a word out of you two.” She glared but the twinkle in her eye gave her away and caused Alex and Tobin to laugh before high fiving Hope and taking the field with Kelley hot on their heels.

Everyone lined up and Berkeley kicked off first.

Right away everyone noticed the change of pace right from the start of the game and everyone had an inkling it was because of a certain 5’7 forward.

Berkeley was pressing hard and the defense had a little trouble taming them but managed to keep the ball away from Ash. Berkeley had a good look on goal when their number 12 spun around JJ and shot low and hard but Ash’s eyes never left the ball as she tracked it from start to finish and punched the ball away from the net.

Despite Berkeley’s hard pressing, it only took 8 minutes for the ball to find the back of the net, courtesy of one Alex Morgan.

Berkeley’s number 5 started to run out of field and had a second to decide to let it go out for a goal kick or try her luck. Of course she tried her luck but Ash quickly snatched the ball and threw it long to Tobin who met it near the halfway line and darted down field. She passed to an open HAO who took two touches before sending it back to Tobin. Tobin spun around her defender and back heeled it to Kelley who was streaking on the left. Kelley managed to get to the edge of the penalty box and crossed the ball in where it met Alex’s awaiting head and hit the back of the net.

Alex ran to Kelley and stopped in front of her as they broke out into the old dance craze ‘The Macarena’ and were soon joined by their team in the celebration.

“Goal in the 8th minute by Santa Monica’s number 13, Alex Morgan. Assist by number 5, Kelley O’Hara.

Everyone lined up and Berkeley kicked off again with a new fire pulsing through their veins.

Number 34 stripped Carli of the ball and took off towards Ash. When the player noticed she was in SMHS’ half and Carli wasn’t far behind, she let off the gas a little tempting Carli into making a foul which Carli fell for and kicked her legs instead of the ball and gave away a free kick.

Carli cursed and glared at number 34 who just smirked in response and set up the free kick. Number 34 curled the ball around the wall but ended up hitting the top left corner of the goal post. Unfortunately for Ash, she had dived to try to make the save and hit the ground when the ball hit the corner and bounced off and unluckily landed at the feet at Berkeley’s number 2 who slammed the rebound into the back of the net for a tie game at the 23rd minute.

Ashlyn punched the ground in annoyance as Berkeley players followed their number 2 who ran to the flag and saluted the fans.

SMHS quickly made a circle around Ashlyn.

“Okay they got a goal but we are better. They got lucky so if we stay calm and focused, we will be the winners at the final whistle.” Abby rallied the team and clapped her hands to break the circle.

But Alex had other plans. She didn’t want to disobey her captain, but they needed a change of pace and she needed to prove herself.

The Sharks lined up and Abby kicked off to Alex. Alex quickly turned and passed it back to Tobin before making a beeline for goal. Tobin nutmegged her marker and took off down the left flank when she heard her.

“TOBIN!”

Tobin trusting that she would find Alex, she kept her eyes on the ball and sent it downfield, only looking up once the ball left her cleat. The next thing she saw was Alex running full speed towards her and hurling herself in the air into Tobin’s arms.

“Oh My! Goal in the 40th minute by Santa Monica’s number 13, Alex Morgan. Assist by number 17, Tobin Heath.”

“That’s my girl!” Tobin screamed as the rest of their teammates dogpiled the two of them.

Alex had done it again.

Halftime whistle blew 15 minutes later and the team headed to the locker room. The team was congratulating Alex and the blue eyed forward was absolutely buzzing from scoring two goals in her first start in what seemed like forever.

When halftime was over, the team headed back out towards the field. Just as she was finished drinking some water, she turned to look at the stands and amongst the sea of blue and silver, her eyes connected with the jubilated eyes of Mr. Peters who gave Alex a thumb up.

Alex smiled wide and returned the thumbs up and lined up at center field to kick off. That simple gestured unleashed the beast in Alex.

As soon as the whistle blew, Alex was all over the field. Tracking back to defend and getting forward to hopefully meet crosses. She managed to out run her defender but had a terrible angle near the side of the goal and saw Carli had a better shot. She crossed the ball which was met by a sprinting Carli and was slammed into the back of the net.

“Goal in the 59th minute by Santa Monica’s number 10, Carli Lloyd. Assist by number 13, Alex Morgan.

Carli pointed to Alex in recognition of her assist before running to the sideline and imitating Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature stance celebration.

Kelley had been subbed out for Kling but she welcomed the substitution instead of worrying because she was kind of tired and nothing sounded better in that moment than curling into Hope’s side to watch the rest of the game.

She grabbed the penny Sydney threw at her and grabbed a water bottle before strutting over to Hope.

“Mind if I sit here?” Kelley winked at Hope.

“You better sit there.” Hope glared playfully before tugging Kelley down on the bench and wrapping a strong arm around the defender’s waist.

Kelley wasted no time in snuggling in before turning back to the game to cheer on her best friends and team.

23 minutes later in the 82nd minute, the dynamic duo tallied another assist and goal, giving Alex the hat trick. Alex made a heart symbol to Tobin followed by reaching behind her back for an invisible arrow and pretending to shoot it like an archer at the crowd.

8 minutes later in stoppage time, Alex completed her day with a second assist, this time to Abby to finish the game out 5-1 in favor of The Sharks.

Tobin ran up to Alex and threw her over her shoulder and started swinging her around in celebration of the fantastic game she had.

Coach calmed all the girls down and gathered them around the bench.

“I’m extremely proud of last performance and even more this performance. You’ve had an explosive two weeks and not only held your own at the collegiate level, but surpassed all expectations. Great job girls and special congrats to Alex who gets the match ball for her busy day of a hat trick and two assists. Well deserved. Now let’s go eat and turn in; we have a long drive home tomorrow.”

Coach Warner dismissed the girls and they started toward the locker room. Alex and Tobin were joking around with Kelley and Hope when they noticed a figure standing by the locker room.

Mr. Peters.

“I’ll meet you inside.” Tobin whispered and kissed her temple and turned to head inside when she felt Alex tug her back.

“Stay. Please?” Alex looked up with wide nervous blue eyes and Tobin didn’t think she could deny her even if she tried.

“Of course.” She promised and interlaced their fingers again as they walked over to Mr. Peters.

“Hello girls! Superb job out there!” Mr. Peters greeted with a bright smile.

“Thank you sir. Glad you enjoyed the game.” Alex offered with a charming smile.

“I just wanted to congratulate you girls on the win and thank you for two very entertaining games… especially this second one. Great job again girls.” Mr. Peters offered another smile and turned to walk way.

Alex’s smile fell and felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She desperately tried to will away the hot tears that wanted to start forming and Tobin gripped her hand tighter. Alex stared at the ground and was about to turn and run to the locker room when a voice interrupted.

“Oh I almost forgot. I can’t wait to show The Academy who the dynamic duo is!” Mr. Peters smiled a huge grin when Alex’s head whipped around.

“Wha? What?” Alex stuttered and Tobin stared with wide hopeful eyes.

“Welcome to The California Soccer Academy. I will see you, Tobin, Hope and Kelley in one month. Congratulations Alex.” And with that Mr. Peters turned and walked back to his car.

Alex stood frozen in place with her mouth open and she could barely breathe.

_‘I did it?! All the hard work, tears, doubts, and injury spells and I did it? I’m going to The Academy?! AND with my girlfriend?!’_

She was broken out of her thoughts when her feet were no longer on the ground and she was spinning.

“You did it Lex! You made The Academy! I told you that you would make it! Oh man I can’t wait to show you off to everyone and let the world know your name. I am so damn proud of you babe. You’re going to The Academy!” Tobin gushed as she spun Alex around and peppered her face with kisses.

Once Tobin put Alex back on the ground, Alex immediately wrapped her arms around Tobin’s neck and connected their foreheads as Tobin dipped her hands under her jersey to massage the flushed tanned skin.

“I’m going to the Academy Tobs. We are going to The Academy together.” Alex gushed as she connected their lips in a fiery kiss.

Tobin pulled away for air a few minutes later and smiled her megawatt grin at Alex as she massaged the skin of the forwards lower back.

“Together.” She whispered against the forward’s lips before connecting them once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter of the story but I wanted to get an update out for you loyal readers. There are two more chapters left I believe unless something changes. Andddddd not to spoil anything but there may be a well deserved requested treat next chapter ;) As always, let me know what you think! All feedback welcomed and appreciated.


	13. The California Soccer Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's first camp at the CSA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off: I am SO sorry about the time frame it took for this update. I know I went from saying I'll post by last Friday to Monday and still no update. Life got in the way and work has been drowning me in hours and I feel like as soon as I get home, I'm leaving again to work. Okay enough with the excuses and just know that I am seriously sorry.
> 
> Second off: A huge chapter with a lot happening for a well deserving audience since a lot of people seem to love this story to make up for a long absence.
> 
> Finally: I really tried to appease everyone and what they would have liked to see and I wanted to make sure this chapter would be sufficient. So enjoy! :)

Alex sat in the back of Hope’s car tucked into Tobin’s side staring out the window as the four of them headed to San Diego for their week at The CSA.

It was one thing to believe that she would become a professional soccer player but now that it was actually happening, Alex didn’t know how to feel about the situation.

She was excited to finally reach this point in her journey; so excited, Tobin woke up in the morning with cramps in her jaw and hand because sexual exhaustion was the only way to get the overly excited forward to go to sleep.

But she was also terrified about failing and ruining any chance of going pro.

So lost in thought, Alex didn’t realize they arrived at the CSA until Tobin squeezed her thigh and showed a beaming smile. The four friends grabbed their bags and headed towards check in.

“TOBIN!”

It took two minutes for her to find them.

The group of four looked up and saw a tall and lean brunette waving vigorously at them by the entrance to the building all the players were to sleep in.

Kelley nervously looked from Tobin to Alex and finally to Hope who shared a worried glance with her as they walked toward the waving brunette and her friend.

“Hey Jamie. Brianna. Excited to be back?” Tobin was the first to speak.

“So excited!” Brianna smiled.

“Definitely and I’m more excited to learn those sick moves of yours.” Jamie beamed brightly.

_‘So this is Jamie.’ Alex thought as she sized the girl up._

Before Alex could say anything, Tobin beat her to it.

“Jamie, Brianna, this is my girlfriend Alex Morgan. She is going to be the next Mia Hamm, I just know it!” Tobin beamed as she tugged Alex closer into her side by her waist.

“Great to meet you.” Brianna smiled again and stuck her hand out to shake Alex’s hand.

“Likewise.” Alex smiled and returned the gesture.

“Nice to meet you Alex.” Jamie greeted with a tight lipped smile but didn’t offer her hand to shake causing Kelley and Hope to widen their eyes when they remembered Jamie being a lot friendly the first time they met her.

Unaffected by Jamie’s sharpness, Alex snuggled closer into Tobin’s side and flashed a cocky smile at Jamie.

“Nice to meet you too Jamie.” She bit back.

Tobin was oblivious to the tension while Hope and Kelley had a silent conversation amongst themselves. The topic? This visit was going to be very interesting.

 

Tobin, Alex, Hope, and Kelley wandered into the meeting room a couple minutes before the start of the meeting and grabbed seats near the wall on the left side.

Mr. Peters started the meeting as soon as he walked in by handing out papers outlining the schedule and waited until everyone got a copy to start going over it.

Halfway through the meeting, Alex felt like she was being watched and subtly moved her eyes around the room to inspect her feeling when her gaze fell upon a frowning Jamie glaring in her direction.

Alex smiled wickedly and placed her hand on Tobin’s thigh causing Tobin to wrap her arm around Alex’s shoulder and pull her in closer subconsciously while keeping her eyes trained on Mr. Peters up front.

Alex snuggled in closer to Tobin and winked at Jamie who huffed at the sight and turned forward to pout.

She decided she would stay quiet for now to avoid unnecessary drama. Tobin clearly wasn’t feeding into Jamie and if the girl wanted to be delusional and think she had a shot with Tobin, well that was on her. She was here for one reason and that was to showcase herself and potentially open doors to her professional career.

The girls headed out of the meeting and walked back to the dorm and turned in for the night. It was actually a pretty sweet set up and better than last time. This time the layout was a two bedroom type suite with a bathroom and a common area.

Tobin went to the bathroom to wash up and saw Alex’s back was turned to the door when she came back. She snuck up behind the forward and wrapped her hands around her waist and propped her chin on Alex’s left shoulder.

“I am so happy that you’re here with me this time around. This time is going to be even better than the last.” Tobin cooed as she placed a soft kiss to the side of Alex’s neck.

Alex hummed and wrapped her arms around Tobin’s arms that were around her waist and started to sway them back and forth.

“I feel so blessed and relieved to be given the opportunity to be here. It’s even better that you’re here too. You’ve always been so supportive to me and I don’t think I could ever thank you enough.” Alex whispered.

Tobin smiled wide against Alex’s neck which caused Alex to smile when she felt it.

“I should be the one thanking you. You always challenge me in ways that keeps me on my toes and you push me to perform at my best without being abrasive. Your fast paced movement on the field keeps my mind focused and forces me to think quickly. And when we link up together, I love how I don’t even need to look at you or for you to find you.”

Tobin sighed and dropped her arms from Alex’s waist. Before Alex could protest the loss of contact, Tobin gently turned her around to face her. She carefully cupped Alex’s face and gently rubbed her cheek bones with the pads of her thumbs as she stared lovingly into her favorite ocean and continued her speech.

“Sure years of hard work, blood, tears, and sacrifices helped shaped me. But it is you, Alex Morgan, that is my biggest asset. You’ve made me a better soccer player and person. So thank you.”

Alex melted with every word that fell from Tobin’s lips. She listened as the words fell one after another to create a beautiful symphony that kissed her ears and tickled her ear drums.

She stared back into those pools of honey and flashed a loving smile before taking a breath.

Maybe she can harmonize with Tobin and make music together.

“You’ve taught me spontaneity when all I knew was predictability. You‘ve shown me creativity when I lacked imagination. So I feel the same way as you do Tobs. You make me want to become the best soccer player I can be; even more when I know it will make you proud. I can’t wait to show the world what we got. Together.” Alex finished with a dreamy sigh as she played with the baby hairs on the back of Tobin’s neck.

Tobin took a second to process everything Alex had said which had the forward worried when a full minute had gone by and Tobin has yet to say anything. But soon a grin breaks out on her face, one so bright, Alex is tempted to grab her sunglasses off the desk to block some of the brightness if she knew it wouldn’t ruin the moment they were having.

Tobin stepped closer to Alex until no space was left between them and nuzzled Alex’s nose with her own before caressing the shell of Alex’s ear with her lips.

“Together has become my new favorite word.”

And it’s been 2 years since Alex gave into Tobin’s request for a date and the length of time that has passed shouldn’t warrant the amount of butterflies flying around in the pit of Alex’s stomach. Her skin shouldn’t be littered with tiny goosebumps that have erupted from that simple sentence. And her heart definitely shouldn’t be pounding against her chest cavity the same way it does after a full 90 minute game. But all of that does happen with Tobin’s admission and Alex is confident that even after her heart has stopped beating in real life, the fire and love in her heart for Tobin would continue to beat for eternity.

“Together can be yours and forever will be my favorite word.” She rasps out so quietly that she is afraid Tobin didn’t hear her despite being so close.

However, Tobin does hear her. Her impossibly big smile gets bigger and wordlessly tugs Alex to bed before cradling her in her arms and shielding them from the world under the covers.

“I love you.” She whispers as she squeezes Alex for good measure.

“I love you too.” Alex gives back before falling asleep.

 

Hope’s alarm blared through the quiet hours of the early morning. She groaned as she reached blindly to turn off the offending noise maker. Relief spread through her still sleepy features when the room went quiet again aside from a mumbled protest against the side of her neck.

“Too early.” She felt more than she heard.

“Babe you have to get up. It’s the first day of training week.” Hope whispered as she rubbed the smaller girl’s back.

Grumbling again, Kelley shifted to remove her face from Hope’s neck just enough to look up at her keeper.

“But doesn’t it sound much better to stay right here in the warm and cozy bed all snuggled up together?” Kelley tried with a cheeky smile.

Hope rolled her eyes, not because of Kelley’s proposal, but out of annoyance for not allowing to be able to give her girlfriend what she wanted.

“Believe me it does, but we are at the CSA! Our first official step into becoming professional.” Hope tried to persuade her.

It worked.

“You’re right! Time to start the day!” Kelley shrieked and Hope swears she has never seen Kelley move so fast out of bed before.

Kelley strips out of her pajamas and throws on gear for training in record time and turns to face Hope who has been enjoying the show from the bed. She grins mischievously and points towards to the door.

“It’s your turn to get them up.”

Hope’s eyes widen in horror and pouts at Kelley.

“You remember what happened the last time I did that?”

Kelley laughs loudly because of course she remembers the last time Hope was on duty to wake up their friends.

They were heading to the beach for Spring Break and Kelley had Hope go get Tobin and Alex while she finished packing because of course she left it for last minute. Not even a minute after leaving the room, the normally unfazed keeper came bursting back into the room with her hands over her eyes just repeating ‘My eyes! My eyes!’ over and over again. When Kelley asked what happened, Hope shuttered and began to explain the horror her girlfriend allowed her to be subjected too.

Hope had knocked on the door and heard no answer so she assumed they were asleep so she let herself in. They were definitely not asleep. In fact, they were very much awake and butt naked with Tobin towards the end of the bed with Alex’s legs locked around her shoulders and Alex’s back was arched up and off the bed and biting what looked like her shirt which Hope assumed is why she didn’t hear anything. When she screamed bloody murder for walking in on her best friends, Alex got scared and involuntarily kicked her legs causing them to lock around Tobin’s head and kneeing her in the eye. Hope received no sympathy from Kelley as the shorter girl was on the floor rolling around laughing at the unfortunate events.

“So yeah. You’re going.” Hope said with finality and crossed arms.

Kelley was still chuckling at the memory when she headed through their door and pounded on Alex and Tobin’s door.

“Hey you two! Time to get up and you have until the count of 5 before I come in so I suggest you be decent!”

Kelley counted out loud to 5 and bravely opened the door and peered into the room. She felt a huge rush of relief flood her system when she saw her best friends very clothed.

“Thank god.” Kelley breathed out causing Tobin to laugh and Alex to bury her reddened cheeks.

“Get up you two. We have breakfast in 15 minutes.” Kelley informed them before shutting the door and heading back into her and Hope’s room with a smug face and laughed when Hope huffed and complained Kelley was always lucky.

Actually, Kelley has been more unlucky by falling victim to her best friends’ raging hormones on more than one occasion but she will never tell Hope that.

 

After breakfast and listening to the game plan, everyone met Mr. Peters on the field to start the day.

They started with a warm up lap and stretches before breaking off into partner drills. Alex noticed Jamie glance in Tobin’s direction and quickly grabbed the midfielder’s hand and pulled her towards her. Tobin just smiled and grabbed a ball to start practicing.

After drills, Mr. Peters set up a scrimmage and Alex and Tobin were placed on opposite teams after Mr. Peters told them he wanted to see how they played against each other.

Alex wasn’t exactly upset that she was on a different team than Tobin. What upset her was Jamie being placed on the same team as Tobin.

_‘At least she is a defender and I have Kelley and Hope on my team.’_

The whistle blew and started the scrimmage with Alex’s team in favor of kick off.

Alex passed it back to Wendy who passed it off to Kelley who took off down the field. Tobin ran up and battled Kelley for the ball and ended up winning but soon was stripped of the ball when Alex saw the exchange and backtracked.

She sent Tobin a wink and took off towards goal. Jamie was the only defender in her way and before she could slide tackle the ball away, Alex tapped the ball in front of her and jumped up and over Jamie before meeting the ball again and slammed it in past the keeper.

Kelley jumped on Alex’s back as the rest of her team congratulated her and looked over and smirked. Tobin sent her a glare for scoring but quickly threw in a proud wink while Jamie looked pissed that she let Alex get passed her.

Tobin’s team kicked off with Tobin starting the kick and passing the ball to Brianna. Brianna passed it back to Dana who ran up the right side and saw Tobin free on the left. She crossed the ball to Tobin who chested it down and took off towards goal. She ended up nutmegging Kelley and laughing as she passed back to Brianna who shot the ball but Hope pushed the ball out wide.

Everyone lined up for a corner and Sara took it and sent the ball in near post to meet Brianna who headed the ball down towards Tobin who back heeled it passed Hope and into the back of the net.

Mr. Peters voiced his approval and praise as the team ran to Tobin. Jamie was the first to reach her as she jumped on Tobin’s back hollering her praise.

“Yeah Tobin! That was so nice!” She shrieked as she jumped down but kept an arm around Tobin’s shoulders.

Alex watched the whole thing and started to heat up at the sight of Jamie hanging on Tobin but tried to keep her cool.

Alex’s team kicked off again and Alex passed to Melany who ran straight through the middle and passed to Kelley who shot the ball but was gathered by the keeper.

The keeper on Tobin’s team, a girl named Sam, quickly kicked the ball when she noticed Tobin way up the field and open. Tobin met the ball and swiveled around defenders and passed it to Brianna who one touched it back to Tobin who poked it in the bottom left corner.

Jamie was again first to congratulate Tobin and Alex used all of her willpower to not go over and rip the girl away from Tobin. Kelley caught on and jogged up to Alex.

“Don’t lose your cool. You worked too hard to let some random girl get in the way of all your hard work.” Kelley tried to soothe.

Alex seemed to calm down with Kelley’s words but couldn’t help another look towards Tobin. She smiled when she saw Tobin subtle remove Jamie’s hand from around her waist in a way that said ‘I don’t want your hands on me but I’m not trying to be a jerk.’

The scrimmage went on for 10 more minutes with neither team scoring again which left Tobin’s team victorious with the 2-1 score line.

Mr. Peters told the girls to take a 15 minute break and to make sure to hydrate.

Jamie started to make her way over to Tobin and Alex couldn’t help but scoff.

_‘Man this girl is pathetic and doesn’t know when to give up.’_

But Tobin broke Alex out of her thoughts when she wrapped her arm around Alex’s shoulders and offered to share her water bottle with a warm smile.

“Can’t have my girl dehydrated now can I?” Tobin smiled wide as she kissed Alex on the lips.

Alex smiled and kissed back before taking the offered water bottle and looked to find Jamie’s gaze and smirked when she saw the jealously swirling behind her green eyes.

“Okay girls! That was one hell of a scrimmage. We are going to head in for a light gym session and then we will be done for the day.” Mr. Peters’ voiced boomed across the pitch.

Tobin grabbed Alex’s hand and led her to the gym with Hope and Kelley following.

If Tobin noticed how Jamie has been acting, she doesn’t mention it as she gently swings her and Alex’s hands back and forth while joking with Kelley and Hope.

The gym session ended and the girls grabbed dinner before retreating to their rooms for the night.

 

A few days passed and things were going great at the academy for the 4 friends. The only problem seemed to be Jamie but Alex still bit her tongue. Hope and Kelley started to take notice as well.

It was the little things. It was the way they watched Tobin mindlessly doing tricks and then catching Jamie trying the same ones a few feet away. It was the way Jamie seemed to always end up on Tobin’s team for scrimmages and the way she seemed to always be the first one to celebrate with her.

Things got even more interesting the second to last day of their visit.

“Alright ladies, I’m super excited for today. We are finally going to switch up the scrimmage teams.” Mr. Peters announced proudly and earned a few hollers of approval from the group.

The girls split up into their new teams and Alex and Tobin were beyond excited that they were paired on the same team; Alex a little more when Jamie was placed on the opposite team.

Before the two could get into position, Mr. Peters called them over.

“What’s up sir?” Alex asked.

“Show all of them just exactly why I scouted you two.” Mr. Peters grinned and sent the girls a wink.

“You got it boss!” Tobin saluted before running into positon.

Alex and Tobin did just that; showing every other girl and coach just exactly why the two were scouted. Even Kelley and Hope seemed to be impressed and they all play for school and club together.

It had only been 5 minutes into the scrimmage and their team was already up 3-0. The first goal came when Tobin pulled off an elastico near the opponent’s goal line and crossed to Alex who volleyed the ball into the back the net. The second came when Tobin chipped one girl, spun around another, nutmegged Jamie-(Alex’s personal favorite), and sent a cross to without looking up to find Alex who shot the ball into the upper right corner. The third goal was courtesy of Tobin, who back heel flicked the ball into the net when Alex passed to her at the edge of the box.

Kelley’s team managed to rally one goal back but unfortunately that meant Tobin and Alex got the ball again.

Alex kicked off to Wendy who passed it Tobin who took off down the left hand side. She heard Alex’s distinct yell of her name and sent the ball down the field. Alex tried to shoot but Hope had blocked her shot. Wendy picked up the rebound and slotted the ball through to Tobin who tried to shoot it but unfortunately didn’t see Jamie coming in hot on her left.

Jamie pushed a little too hard which sent Tobin to the ground.

“Oh my god Tobin I’m so sorry!” Jamie shrieked before trying to help Tobin up.

“It’s okay Jay. No broken bones.” Tobin replied coolly as she brushed grass and dirt of her clothes.

Jamie stepped forward and tried to help dust Tobin off.

“That’s good but I am still very sorry. I meant to get the ball not you.” Jamie continued to argue her case and pat at Tobin’s clothes.

Alex watched the whole exchanged with narrowed eyes at the hands on her girlfriend that didn’t belong to Alex. She marched over to Tobin and purposely stepped in between Tobin and Jamie.

“Tobs you okay?” Alex tried to keep her voice even.

“All good babe. No broken bones for me.” Tobin smiled before kissing Alex’s cheek and squeezing her arm.

Alex smiled at Tobin and turned to run back into position, but not before glaring at Jamie and making the girl shrink a little bit.

Despite the warnings, Jamie persisted.

Mr. Peters called the end of scrimmage with Tobin’s team winning 5-3. All the girls gathered around him while the other coaches and trainers started cleaning the field.

“Excellent work out there ladies especially you Tobin and Alex. They don’t call the two of you the dynamic duo just for fun.” Mr. Peters beamed with pride.

“We totally see why you scouted them Mr. Peters!” Brianna piped in earning a round of agreements except from Jamie who glared at her friend.

Mr. Peters laughed and continued his speech.

“Take some time to cool down and then head to recovery before dinner. Awesome job again girls.”

Everyone broke into their groups and started chatting amongst themselves. Kelley and Alex were off in their own little world while Tobin was unlacing her cleats and Hope was taking off her gloves.

Jamie suddenly popped up next to Tobin.

“Um hey Tobin I know it’s cool down but do you think you could help me out with a trick that I just can’t seem to master? It’s that move that you do where you juggle and pop the ball up then catch it behind your knee then pop it out. I just can’t seem to do it.” Jamie pouted.

If anyone was asked if Tobin had any flaws, they would say she was pretty oblivious and too nice for her own good.

Tobin frowned at the pouting girl and grabbed a ball.

“Hey now, there is no need to frown. I’ll help you out. You just need practice and I’m sure you’ll get it.” Tobin smiled brightly at the girl and grabbed a ball.

While Tobin started helping Jamie, Hope stared with wide eyes before turning her attention to her girlfriend and best friend but kept quiet.

_‘Oh boy.’_

After a few minutes of arguing about Kelley’s firm belief that she was indeed a squirrel whisperer, Kelley turned to Hope for support while Alex rolled her eyes and then caught sight of something unpleasant.

_‘Excuse you Tobin Heath, but what are you doing over there with that little homewrecker?’_

Kelley stopped trying to persuade Hope to agree with her when she saw Hope nudge her head to silently tell her to turn around. Kelley turned around and noticed Alex’s clenched jaw with her eyes trained on Tobin and Jamie.

“Al, you okay?” Kelley cautiously asked despite knowing the forward was indeed not okay.

“This bitch.” Was all Alex said while still staring at the two practicing girls.

“Who?” Kelley asked playing dumb.

“Jamie.” Alex emphasized with disgust. “Ever since we got here she is always trying to find a way to touch Tobin or have her attention. She knows that we are dating but it’s like she either doesn’t want to believe or really doesn’t believe it. And I don’t even know what the hell Tobin is thinking. She can’t be that oblivious can she?” Alex huffed.

Kelley had two options. She could lie and tell Alex that Tobin really is that oblivious because in all honestly, it’s really not that much of a lie or she could risk upsetting Alex more and telling her that Tobin isn’t that oblivious but the girl is helpless when it comes to being nice because it’s literally her entire genetic code. Kelley has known Tobin for 8 years and has seen Tobin mean just three times. She didn’t know which was the lesser of two evils so naturally she looked to Hope for help with pleading eyes.

Hope nodded dutifully and stepped in to help her girlfriend.

“Yes Jamie has a crush on Tobin.” Hope started and Kelley’s eyes widened as Alex narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to speak. “But before you say anything, it took a lot of convincing for Tobin to finally see what me and Kelley saw the last time we were here. But she has made it clear that she is dating you and has no interesting of ever straying away from you. Shit Al, this whole time if her attention is not on a soccer ball, it’s on you. Ignore the bitch and just trust Tobin because she would never do anything to hurt or upset you. I guarantee the only reason she is practicing with her right now is because it’s next to impossible for Tobin to be mean and not help someone. I doubt she even knows what the word mean means.” Hope finished and internally let out of sigh of relief when she saw the storm in Alex’s eyes start to dwindle.

“I guess you’re right. Tobin has never done anything to make me question her loyalty. I shouldn’t waste my time and opportunity here just because of some insignificant girl.” Alex stated as she went back to watching the two girls with a little less fire in her eyes.

Kelley and Hope exchanged a look of both relief and disbelief that Alex let the subject go so easily. But the feeling only lasted so long when they noticed a mischievous glint in Alex’s blue eyes and got ready with metaphoric popcorn as they watched Alex walk over to Tobin and Jamie.

Alex marched right over to Tobin and tugged on her arm and kissed her full on the lips once Tobin turned around to face her. The two got lost in the kiss as Tobin wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist and Alex tangled her hands in Tobin’s hair.

Hope and Kelley watched on with amused eyes as an extremely uncomfortable Jamie rocked on the balls of her feet for a few seconds before scurrying away from the two lip locked girls.

“Did you miss me or something?” Tobin asked with playful eyes and a brilliant smile once she pulled back from Alex.

“Always babe.” Alex smiled but it didn’t light up her blue eyes and Tobin noticed but didn’t mention it. She just kissed Alex on the lips before interlacing their fingers together and turning towards Hope and Kelley and announcing she was ready to leave for recovery.

Later that night after bodies were healed and stomachs were filled, Tobin, Alex, Hope, and Kelley, headed back to their temporary home for the night.

Hope and Kelley said their goodnights and headed into their room and Alex and Tobin followed suit.

Tobin changed so she was just in boxers and a sports bra and turned to see Alex staring.

“See something you like Lex?” Tobin smirked.

Alex blushed at being caught before recovering and quirking her eyebrow.

“Yes I do. That kit kat bar you have on the table is calling my name.” Alex winked before turning to change.

As Alex was about to pull a shirt over her head, she felt two strong arms wrapped around her bare stomach from behind.

“Something is bothering you.” Tobin murmured against Alex’s neck before placing a soft kiss against the velvety skin.

Alex closed her eyes to compose herself.

“There’s nothing wrong.” She forced out.

Tobin gently bit Alex’s neck in response.

“Now you know I know you better than that.”

“N-nothing is wrong.”

Tobin removed her arms from Alex and turned her around so they were face to face. Alex felt like she was punched in the stomach when she looked into her favorite honey brown eyes dull with sadness.

“Your smile didn’t reach your eyes when we were leaving for recovery. Your smile usually reaches your eyes and they shine the brightest blue I have ever seen when you’re happy and they have an extra twinkle when you’re excited. I know they turn almost gray when you’re upset and they turn midnight blue when you’re turned on. So please don’t lie to me. I think I may know what’s wrong but I want you to tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it. Let me see my favorite shade of blue.” Tobin whispered as she brushed her thumbs across Alex’s cheeks.

Alex sighed and looked away from Tobin.

‘Of course she noticed. Tobin knows me like the back of her hand.’

“It’s. It’s Jamie. She is all over you and doesn’t take a hint that we are dating. I don’t know if it’s because she doesn’t believe it or doesn’t want to believe it.” Alex looked away semi embarrassed she was jealous and bothered by this girl.

“So it is what I thought was wrong.” Tobin stated plainly.

Alex just nodded and kept her head down, too ashamed and unworthy of looking at Tobin.

Tobin sighed and placed a hand under Alex’s chin to make the taller girl look at her.

“I’m sorry.” Was all she said which caused Alex to furrow her eyebrows in disbelief.

“You’re sorry?” She asked timidly.

Tobin nodded once.

“Yes. I had an idea Jamie had a thing for me and I still helped her practice some moves today so I’m sorry if that was disrespectful. I’m not trying to make excuses but you know how I am when it comes to wanting to help people. But I promise you that there is nothing on my end and I do everything I can to make it clear who my heart belongs too. I bragged about you so much last time I was here and told everyone I couldn’t wait for you to come here with me next time because I knew you would get a spot. So I’m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable.”

Alex stared in shock at her girlfriend who was apologizing for something that wasn’t her fault. She looked straight into Tobin’s eyes and offered a small smile.

“No Tobin. It’s not your fault so please don’t think that. Your heart is too good for this world.” Alex tried to comfort her girlfriend.

Tobin nodded her head in understanding before a small smirk appeared on her face.

“So that explains that kiss on the field after the scrimmage. Someone was jealous and basically marking her territory.” Tobin couldn’t keep the amusement out of her voice.

Alex’s cheeks flushed red before squaring her shoulders and regaining confidence.

“Well I had to do something for her to get the hint. All of you is mine just like all of me is yours.”

And just like that, the playful air seemed to vanish as Tobin’s eyes turned from honey to almost molasses. Tobin stepped even closer to Alex and pushed her forehead against Alex’s.

“All of it?” She whispered huskily.

Alex nodded as her blue eyes started to darken.

Tobin connected their lips in a painfully slow kiss that had Alex groaning almost immediately as her hands wrapped around Alex’s waist again. She massaged the skin of her lower back before dipping her hands blow Alex’s waist band until her hands met obstacle free skin. Alex’s arms wrapped around Tobin’s neck as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss and Tobin took the hint and swiped her tongue across Alex’s bottom lip as her hands alternated between kneaded Alex’s ass cheeks and squeezing them firmly.

Alex’s mouth opened to release a moan but was muffled when Tobin poked her tongue in and started to wrestle Alex’s tongue for control. Tobin felt like she was losing so when Alex’s tongue poked in again, Tobin locked it between her lips and gently sucked on her tongue to show dominance. The gesture made Alex moan louder and gently tugged on the sandy brown locks clenched in her fist causing Tobin to hum in approval.

“I-I-I can’t control myself around you. I can’t wait until we get home. I need all you now Alex.” Tobin stuttered as she her breathing starting to become labored.

“But Tobin, Hope and uhhhh” Tobin interrupted Alex’s statement as she bit her pulse point and then sucked on it to soothe the wound.

“Please Alex.” She shamelessly begged as she trailed her nose against her jaw.

“Believe me baby; I want you as much, if not even more. They’ll hear us.” Alex forced out trying her hardest to keep her eyes from rolling to the back of her head.

Tobin smiled because Alex didn’t say no, she was just afraid of their best friends hearing them.

“Then you’re going to have to be quiet this time.” Tobin humored before looking at Alex with pupils blown wide with lust and desire.

Alex bit her lip just at the sight of the fire roaring in her eyes, too turned on to reprimand Tobin for making fun of Alex’s vocal tendencies in bed.

The more turned on the girls got, the more aggressive their kisses became. When oxygen became a problem, Tobin pulled away and attacked the smooth skin of Alex’s neck. She sucked and licked a trail from just under Alex’s ear to the base of her throat and continued along the contours of her collarbone.

Tobin unhooked Alex’s bra and threw it to a corner of the room before taking one breast in her mouth and the other in her hand and worked together to heat up Alex even more only stopping briefly when Alex roughly tugged at the sports bra to release Tobin.

When she was satisfied with the amount of attention to each breast, she moved to above Alex’s left breast and kissed and sucked until she formed enough hickies to form the shape of a heart. She pressed a gentle kiss in the middle of the shape and smiled against the skin.

“All mine.”

The middy then pulled away and lowered herself onto her knees. Now eye level with Alex’s pelvic area, Tobin leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on each hip bone before placing another kiss right about Alex’s center. Alex moaned loudly at the sensation as her fingers threaded in Tobin’s hair again.

“You’re not being that quiet.” Tobin looked up from her knees into midnight blue eyes and smirked.

Alex immediately bit her lip to keep quiet in fear of Tobin stopping her actions. But Tobin was way past self-control as she stood up and picked up Alex by the back of her thighs and carried the forward to the bed before dropping her down.

“Turn over.” She husked out and Alex immediately rolled over.

Tobin straddled Alex’s upper thighs and rocked her hips forward and Alex had to bury her face in the sheets to muffle the moan wanting to spill from her lips from the sensation of Tobin’s center hitting her ass.

She reached out her hands and lightly dug her nails into Alex’s shoulder blades before dragging down the length of her back. Then she leaned down and licked a path starting from Alex’s lower back and following her spine to the base of her neck and then blowing along the slick trail.

Alex’s skin erupted in goose bumps and clenched the sheets in her fist.

Tobin repeated the action three times before sitting up and shimming down so she was now straddling Alex’s calves. She started to knead the soft skin of Alex’s ass before playfully nipping a few bites into the muscular cheeks and added a playful slap.

Once she felt Tobin climb off her completely, Alex rolled over onto her back again.

Tobin immediately straddled one of Alex’s legs so her knee was pushed up against Alex’s center. She added the slightest of pressure and Alex responded by pushing against her knee.

“Tobinnnn.” She murmured breathlessly.

The want and need in Alex’s voice further pushed Tobin into a world of fire and want as she ghosted her hand up Alex’s thigh and over her center gently.

Alex bucked her hips anxiously trying to feel more of Tobin’s hand.

“Please Tobin.” She begged into the dim room.

Whether it was the desperation in Alex’s voice or the impatience of not touching her girlfriend, Tobin didn’t know. What she did know was that she needed more.

More pressure. More contact. More Alex.

They finally got what they both wanted. Tobin entered one finger slowly at first and the twist of pleasure gracing Alex’s features encouraged her on. A second fingered followed and Tobin started to pulse in and out of Alex slowly.

The moan that ripped through Alex’s throat was sure to alert the whole floor, let alone their best friends.

Tobin started picking up her pace and the impatience started to settle in again as she started to rub herself against Alex’s leg that she was still straddling.

“Don’t stop baby. Don’t you dare fucking stop.” Alex growls trying to keep her voice at a low octave.

Between Tobin rocking against her and her fingers inside her center, Alex pushed closer to the edge and started to tighten around Tobin’s fingers.

“Fuuuuuu” Alex began to yell before lifting her head and biting deep into Tobin’s shoulder and digging her nails deep into her back to silence the moan bubbling in the back of her throat.

Tobin growls with the pleasurable pain and seeks revenge by curling her fingers. And with the curl of Tobin’s fingers, Alex’s body falls victim and erupts like a summer thunderstorm. First comes the fast paced wind blowing and rustling leaves alerting the town there is a storm brewing; the whimpering and labored breathing. Next is the low rumbling of thunder that gradually gets louder; the rapid beating of her heart pounding against her chest cavity. Then comes the flashes of lighting; Tobin’s fingers shocking her body and electrifying every nerve ending in Alex’s body. And finally here comes the rain; Alex’s love juices coating Tobin’s fingers in a slick sheet as she cums fast and hard.

Alex’s fingers release Tobin’s back as she falls back on the bed glistening in sweat and sexual elation with a dopey satisfied smile like someone enjoying the smell of fresh summer rain.

Her eyelids get heavy but she snaps awake when she becomes hyper aware that her leg is not slick with sweat but with Tobin’s wetness. And Alex Morgan may be a lot of things but selfish isn’t one of them.

So she reaches up to grab Tobin by the hips and tugs her until she sees Tobin at a whole different angle. This angle rivals California sunsets and Hawaiian beaches. This angle allows her to look up and see Tobin on her knees straddling her face, leaning back on one hand while the other has Alex’s muscular thigh in its grasp squeezing for dear life, and head thrown back in euphoric bliss as Alex’s arms are hooked under Tobin’s thighs and her hands latched onto her hips.

Her lips are teasing; playfully nipping the most inner part of Tobin’s thighs. She darts her tongue out to give one long lick up Tobin’s slit before gently blowing warm air against her center causing Tobin’s skin to burst with goose bumps and her breath hitch.

Tobin gently starts to rock against Alex’s face and Alex’s tongue darts out and pokes at Tobin’s folds. Tobin lets a small moan escape past her lips and it does nothing but spur Alex on.

Her tongue is no longer timid as it pushes past Tobin’s folds and finds a pleasurable game of back and forth.

Tobin’s hips start to buck harder and her fingers comb through Alex’s hair as she stares down at the source of her pleasure.

The two soccer stars lock eyes, blown wide with desire, and it is almost enough to send Alex over the edge again but she fights it and focuses back in on giving Tobin the release she deserves.

It’s time Tobin sees stars like the ones that paint the night sky.

She moves her hands to Tobin’s v-line and presses her palms flat against her hips. She pushes Tobin’s hips back as Tobin pushes them forward and soon she’s riding Alex’s face all the while Alex is tongue deep inside of her.

Alex licks, sucks, and thrusts with a new fervor that has Tobin breathless and panting all at once.

Soon Tobin stops her movements and tries to stare down at Alex but finds it difficult as her eyes roll to the back her head. She clamps her hand in Alex’s hair and presses lightly against the crown her head. Tobin may be frozen but Alex sure isn’t as she makes her final thrust that has Tobin crumbling above her.

“AAALLLLLLLEEEEXXXXX!” Tobin lets out an uncharacteristic guttural moan as her body shakes and she collapses half on the bed and half on Alex.

Her body is still convulsing as she tries to regain her breath and Alex is stroking her back trying to calm the shaking limbs.

All of sudden they hear three loud bands on their door.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! You already made me want to go blind by walking in on you two countless times, now you have to make my ears bleed listening to this bullshit?!” Kelley’s annoyed voice sounded through the door.

Tobin and Alex tried not to giggle at their irritated friend.

“Two can play this game! Hope get naked! We are having sex right now!” Kelley shouted as she stomped away.

The two busted out laughing at their competitive and spiteful best friend. They calmed down and Alex looked at Tobin with a smirk.

“So I’m the one that had to be quiet huh?” Alex laughed as Tobin turned red.

“Yeah well… shut up.” Tobin muttered before rolling on her back and tugging Alex on top of her and rubbing circles on her back.

They were just about to fall asleep when they heard a very distinct ‘Hopeeeee!’ and simultaneously groaned.

“She’s such an ass.” Tobin muttered.

Alex lifted her head and smirked at Tobin.

“You know that saying… if you can’t beat them, join them?”

Tobin furrowed her eyebrows and was a little afraid of what Alex would say when she saw a dangerous look in the forward’s eyes.

“Yeahhhh….?” She timidly asked.

Alex moved to straddle Tobin’s hips before leaning down and connecting their lips in a fiery kiss causing Tobin to groan at the taste of herself lingering on Alex’s lips. She pulls away and connects her forehead with Tobin’s.

“We can totally beat them.” She rasped out as she grinded her hips down into Tobin’s.

 

Kelley woke up the next morning and reached for her phone to check the time. She had effectively woken up a half hour before her alarm and decided to turn it off since she was already awake.

After setting her phone down, she looked down at Hope and smiled at the sight. The goal keeper was butt naked and passed out flat on her stomach with her arm draped over Kelley’s waist and tucked under her and little snores coming out of her mouth.

Kelley just couldn’t help herself and picked her phone back up and opened her camera and started a video.

She focused in on herself and put a finger up to her lips before panning the video close to Hope’s mouth to listen to her snoring for a few seconds. Then she set the video back to her with Hope still sleeping next to her and Kelley just shaking her head before counting to three with her fingers before screaming “HOPE!!!”

Hope bolted upright and rolled off the bed and hit the ground with a loud thud before popping right up.

“What? What happened? Are you okay?” Hope shouted out in a panic still bleary eyed and still very naked.

Kelley lost it and starting laughing uncontrollably before turning off the video and rolling around on the bed laughing louder.

“You’re face*hahaha*you should have seen your face*hahaha.” Kelley forced out between her fits of giggles.

Hope wasn’t amused at all as she put her hands on her hips and tried to give Kelley her best bitch face. Kelley lost her shit even more because really, how intimidating did Hope really think she looked standing there butt naked and basically angrily pouting.

“Babe, I’m sorry but I couldn’t help myself.”

Hope glared and stayed quiet.

“Come on, I know you want to laugh.”

Nothing.

“I love you?” She tried again with a head tilt.

Hope huffed and walked over to Kelley already forgiving the smaller girl.

“You are so lucky you’re so fucking cute.” Hope growled before leaning down and giving Kelley a good morning kiss.

Kelley smiled into the kiss before tugging the keeper down on top of her.

“Correction: I’m so lucky you are naked right now.” Kelley replied with a cheeky grin before leaning back in to kiss Hope’s lips.

Things started to heat up as Hope moved to place a leg in between Kelley’s and interlocked their hands before pinning them above Kelley’s head. Kelley moaned into the kiss and nibbled at Hope’s bottom lip causing Hope to add pressure to Kelley’s center with her knee in response.

Kelley bucked and rolled her hips into Hope at the delicious pressure being added to her most sensitive area. She wiggled and broke her hands free and dug her nails into Hope’s shoulder.

Hope grunted at the sensation of Kelley’s nails in her back and bit down on Kelley’s pulse point and then soothing the wound with her tongue. She pulled back and looked down at Kelley with hungry eyes and a devilish smile. She straddled Kelley’s hips to pin her to the bed before leaning over the side to grab her shirt and Kelley’s.

When she retrieved the items, she took her shirt first and tired Kelley’s left wrist to the bed post and used Kelley’s shirt to tie her right wrist to the other post.

Kelley tried to tug her hands free acting like she was annoyed when really her body felt like Hope had thrown gasoline on her and lit her on fire from the overwhelming desire of being helpless at Hope’s disposal.

Hope settled back onto Kelley’s hips and ran her fingers along her collarbone, down the center of chest, and ghosted over her breasts before dragging her nails down Kelley’s toned stomach.

“It’s not nice to scare people out of sleep now is it Kelley?” Hope husked out.

All Kelley could do was nod since she was too turned on by a dominant Hope.

“Every action has a reaction. Do you remember learning that in science class?” Hope asked as she trailed a finger from hip bone to hip bone.

Again, Kelley just nodded.

“So now answer me this. Your action of scaring me caused my reaction of being momentarily scared.” Hope trailed off as she lightly scratched up Kelley’s sides. “If my action is tying you to the bed… what do you think the reaction will be?”

Kelley mustered up all the strength you could and opened her mouth to speak but Hope cut her off with a finger against her lips.

“Rhetorical. I’m going to tell you.” Hope whispered with a wicked smile.

She trailed the tip of her nose from her collarbone, up the side of her neck, and to her ear before gently nipping her earlobe.

Kelley squirmed and wiggled trying to get free because my God there was nothing more she wanted to do in that moment than jumping Hope and burying herself three fingers deep into her girlfriend.

“I leave you here frustrated to think about what’ve you done as I get ready for practice.” Hope whispered before pulling away with a smirk and getting off Kelley.

Dumbfounded. That’s the only thing Kelley felt. Actually that was a lie; she was horny and frustrated and the raging fire deep inside her stomach and the throbbing in her anxious center had Kelley wanting to scream and yell and maybe even cry a little.

Somehow she found her voice which was laced with lust and desperation.

“Are you kidding me? You’re going to do all of this just to teach me a lesson on not to scare you? You’re going to leave me here hot and bothered and aching for you?” Kelley growled.

Hope just hummed and raised a challenging eyebrow.

Narrowing her blazing eyes at the keeper, Kelley spread her legs wide to show Hope her dripping center glistening in the morning sun.

“Look what you did. This is because of you and you’re not even going to take care of it. And not only are you not doing anything about it, I can’t even do something about it since you ever so kindly tied me up and left me helplessly lying here.” Kelley spat.

Hope smirked and leaned back against the desk and spread her legs apart ever so slightly to continue to taunt the ever so frustrated Kelley.

Kelley continued to yank her wrists but to no avail and finally gave up and let out a frustrated sigh.

“Please Hope. I’m sorry I scared you and I’m sorry for laughing but this is torture. You got me all worked up and then leave me high and dry to do nothing but stare at your perfectly naked body in pure sexual frustration. Please forgive me. Please untie me. Please fuck me.” She pleaded.

Flashing a mischievous smile, Hope walked over to Kelley and leaned down to connect their foreheads and giggled.

“Reaction number two; You beg me to fuck you and who am I to deny my beautiful and wonderful girlfriend.” Hope husked out and shoved two fingers into Kelley.

“Fuckkkkkk.” Kelley screamed at the sudden but delicious contact.

Hope pulsed in and out of Kelley with careful vigor and had her spilling over the edge in record time as Kelley shook in ecstasy.

Kelley’s body went limp as soon as Hope brought her down from her high and her head lulled to the side as she tried to catch her breath.

“Remind. Remind me to scare you every morning if these are the consequences.” Kelley said between pants.

Giggling, (yes Hope Solo is a giggler but only for one Kelley O’Hara) nuzzled her neck and placed a soft kiss to the crook of her neck.

“I love you so much Kell.”

“I love you more Hopey bear.”

Sleep started to coax their eyelids closed when a loud rapping at the door shocked them both into alertness.

“Yo let’s go. 15 minutes until breakfast and our last training session.” Tobin’s voice sounded through the door.

Both groaned before shuffling out of bed.

“We’re coming!” Hope shouted.

“Just finished actually!” Kelley added.

“Eww gross dude!” Tobin scoffed as she stomped away.

The two busted out laughing before changing and meeting Alex and Tobin in the common room.

 

Everyone gathered around the field for their last training session before they parted ways for home the following morning.

Alex, Tobin, and Kelley went with the field coaches while Hope scampered off towards the goalkeeper coach.

Everyone did their separate drills before Mr. Peters teamed them up for one last scrimmage. The four friends all got paired together while Jamie was thrown on the other team. Alex smirked at the girl, no longer threatened by her.

The scrimmage kicked off and the teams played for 15 minutes and only had a score of a 1-1 tie. Peters called next goal wins and that’s when the intensity kicked up.

Both teams battled for possession for a few minutes when Tobin stripped Wendy of the ball and took off down the field. She heard Alex’s distinct ‘Tobin!’ and shot a long ball that met the feet of the sprinting Alex. Alex pulled her foot back and was about to take the shot when Jamie slid in to kick the ball but unfortunately got Alex’s foot instead.

Alex was too angry to feel the throbbing in her ankle as adrenaline and built up aggression from the past week that she thought she let go of came bubbling up.

“What the hell Jamie?! That was such a dirty tackle!” Alex screamed in the girl’s face.

Jamie squared her shoulders and stood toe to toe with Alex.

“That was all ball and you know it.” She spat.

“You’re kidding right? Tell that to the rip in my sock and cleat mark on my skin! You could have broken my ankle!” Alex retorted.

Tobin came running up and stepped in between the two yelling girls.

“Hey now, everyone calm down.” Tobin’s chill voice tried to soothe the frustrated girls. “Lex, are you okay?”

“Sore but I just need some ice. Jamie slid in carelessly but luckily nothing is broken.” Alex glared at Jamie.

“You’re being overdramatic and a baby.” Jamie scoffed.

This time is was Tobin to raise her voice.

“Excuse me Jamie but that is my girlfriend you’re being nasty too and I don’t really appreciate it. I’m sorry that I can’t give you what you want but I am in a happy and fully committed relationship to Alex and she makes me want to be the best version of myself. I’m going to marry this girl one day. I thought we could all be friends, I really did, but it looks like we can’t. I’m sure you’re a really sweet person when you’re not jealous but it looks like you can’t accept me and Alex and that all me and you will ever be is just friends. It’s a shame we couldn’t be friends because you really are a nice person but a person who doesn’t respect my girlfriend is no friend of mine. Take care.” Tobin dismissed before grabbing Alex’s hand and walking away.

Mr. Peters decided to end practice after the flair up since he was only planning on practicing the girls for a few more minutes anyway. He wanted the girls to have a memorable visit to the academy on a good note instead of a sour one.

Alex felt dizzy in a good way as her head wrapped around the words that came spilling from Tobin’s mouth. Tobin had stood up for her, for them, and a few simple choice words buried in the middle of her speech had Alex’s stomach erupting in butterflies.

**_‘I’m going to marry this girl one day.’_ **

The biggest smile Alex has ever worn flashed across her features and her eyes lit up in a vibrant blue as her heart rate elevated to concerning levels but she didn’t care.

She always thought Tobin was her future. And now Alex just found out that she was Tobin’s.

So Alex did the only thing she deemed appropriate for a time like this. She spun Tobin around and wrapped her arms around the middy’s neck and kissed her.

Her lips tingled like the first time they kissed as her knees started to buckle and she was positive she would have fallen if Tobin’s strong arms hadn’t wrapped around her waist and held her up.

When she pulled away, she took a few extra seconds to open her eyes and was met with a dreamy smile when she finally did open them. She looked into Tobin’s eyes, vibrant and exploding with affection like fireworks exploding in the sky on the 4th of July. And the way Tobin’s smile widened, Alex knew her eyes matched Tobin’s with her own fireworks display and she smiled back.

“You’re going to marry me huh?” Alex cooed as she scratched the nape of Tobin’s neck.

“Absolutely. A life with you is the only life I want to know. I know we are still young but I know you’re it for me Alex.” Tobin whispered as she leaned her forehead against Alex’s.

“I love you so much Tobin Powell Heath. You are my forever.” Alex rasped as she leaned in to kiss Tobin again.

 

Maybe they were still on a high from attending their first elite soccer program together but Alex felt the new declaration in her and Tobin’s relationship was the reason she felt giddy and happy and man did her cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

So always felt loved by Tobin and secure in their relationship. Tobin always seemed to make Alex number one priority; even a priority over soccer. Tobin did however thank God every night for allowing her to have Alex and soccer together so she didn’t have to make that choice very often. Tobin loved her soccer. But the reassurance of a future and knowing Tobin wants this, them, just as much as Alex does, makes her feel invincible. She feels like she can live dangerously without being dangerous because Tobin loves her and love means protection.

Alex stared up at Tobin from her lap with affectionate eyes as Tobin laughs and jokes with Kelley about some embarrassing tree climbing mishap; A mishap where a branch broke under Kelley’s weight and left her dangling upside down for 10 minutes longer than she should have been because Tobin was too busy rolling on the ground laughing her ass off at Kelley before Tobin went and helped her. She watched the way her eyes and nose crinkled as she threw her head back in laughter at the memory. She studied her pearly white grin like it was a piece of art in a high end gallery. As cliché as it sounded; Alex fell in love with Tobin all over again on their last night at the academy.

A soft and timid voice interrupted her day dream and quieted the group down.

“Excuse me, Tobin?”

Everyone turned their attention to Jamie who stood before them with her eyes cast downward and scuffing her foot on the floor.

“Jamie.” Tobin addressed plainly.

The girl looked up with nervous green eyes.

“I just wanted to apologize to you. To both of you. I will admit that yes I had a crush on you and yes I was jealous of Alex and it clouded my judgement on the field but I just wanted to say I totally respect your girls’ relationship and I’m sorry for the way I have been acting. Maybe one day in the future we can all be friends but I respect if you oppose the idea of being friends.”

It was quiet for a few moments and Alex studied Tobin’s features. She took notice of the way the gears in her head turned and a wave of emotions quickly swirled in a storm of forgiveness and resentment before quickly settling. Alex recognized the look that settled in Tobin’s eyes. She has seen it countless times with her.

Tobin had already forgiven her as soon as she said the word ‘apologize’. And while it’s no secret and surprise Tobin forgives too easily and too quickly, what is surprising is Alex. She has already forgiven Jamie as well.

Tobin’s smooth voice broke the silence.

“I forgive you Jamie and it would be cool if we could all get along. I hate not vibing with people. Life is too short to hold grudges. We’ll see you at the next camp. Take care.” Tobin smiled before putting out her fist for a fist bump witch Jamie happily returned.

“Thanks Tobin. And I’m sorry for that move on the field and trying to flirt with Tobin all week. I really do respect your relationship hope we can be friends too someday in the future.” Jamie looked towards Alex with hopeful eyes.

Alex glanced at Tobin who was staring at her with curious eyes and then at Kelley and Hope who were quiet and anxiously waiting for her next move.

Alex looked back at Jamie and flashed a gentle smile towards her and nodded.

“I’ll see you next camp Jamie and hopefully we’ll verse Tobin and kick her ass.” Alex laughed and winked at the girl before pulling her into a side hug that was eagerly returned.

Hope and Kelley let out breaths they didn’t know they were holding while Tobin just smiled loving at her, pride radiating off her tanned figure.

Alex raised her can of sprite and cleared her throat.

“To an amazing camp through all the ups and downs at the elite California Soccer Club with my best friends while growing and learning on and off the field. To my wonderful girlfriend who I’ve fallen deeper in love with if that was even possible as we take another step in the direction of forever. The four of us, here together, is really all I could ever want in this moment. Cheers everyone!”

“Cheers!”“Cheers!”“Salud!”

“You’re not Spanish Kelley no matter how hard you try!” Tobin yelled causing the other two to snicker before they all clinked their cans together to conclude an amazing week with amazing people doing what they loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we go. A little something for everyone. A jealous Alex. Alex and Jamie interaction. Talex Smut. O'Solo smut teaser. Something for everyone! So let me know what you think. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Hope you enjoyed! :)


	14. Author's Note

Hey Everyone!

I just want to take the time and say thank you so much for reading and commenting and critiquing this story and thank you for being along for the journey.

I'm sad to say that after thinking it over, chapter 13 from the CSA will most likely be the last real chapter and the final chapter will be a sort of epilogue to make the story come full circle. While everyone seems to enjoy the story, since Kelley and Alex are good again, the main story plot is kind of fizzling out.

I'll be back again in the future to hopefully continue to create stories you enjoy. I'm not sure when the last chapter will be out but be on the look out for it because it shouldn't be too long until it's out.

Thank you so much again and feel free to hit me with anything you would like to see in the future... Maybe a sequel to this but in college/if our ladies make the senior national team? ;)

Sincerely,

redskittles30


	15. Power Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes full circle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First: I am EXTREMELY sorry this last chapter took way too long to get out. Work is overloading me crazily, I didn't know how I wanted to end this, and I wanted to put a quality finish even though I am not sure the ending is top quality but I certainly tried.
> 
> Second: Thank you so much for your love and comments on this story. And thank you so much for your opinions on possibly a sequel maybe around college/national team call up times and all that. It makes my heart happy that you would want to continue to read work produced by me. You all mean the world.
> 
> Finally: We have reached the end. Enjoy!

Tobin was at Roosevelt Park taking practice shots at Hope in concentrated silence aside from the bits of helpful tips here and there from Hope.

The two were practicing for a while at the field after coming up with little white lies to keep their girlfriends at home. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to bring their girlfriends, it was just that Alex and Kelley would have wanted to come if they knew Hope and Tobin were going to hang out and practice. And if Kelley and Alex came, then Tobin and Hope couldn’t plan surprises for the two; so no harm, no foul in Tobin and Hope’s eyes.

Tobin continued to practice penalties for a while and stopped when her final ball of what could have been her 5th set was kicked towards the net.

“The new season is starting soon and I want to do something special with Alex. To show her how much she means to me and prove to her I’m in for the long haul. I just don’t know what to do to show that.” Tobin sighed.

“Tobin you’re always doing something cute for Alex so I’m sure you’ll figure out something.” Hope tried to comfort.

“What do you plan on doing?”

“I was thinking of cooking her dinner and spending the night in just us.” Hope sounded less stress.

“You cook for her all the time Hope.” Tobin replied less supportively.

Hope frowned and glared at Tobin. Now she was stressed.

“Yeah but telling your girlfriend she’s the one for you so early is not something you take lightly.” Hope scoffed offended.

Tobin’s eyes grew wide as her jaw dropped.

“Shit really Hope? I’m sorry. That’s really good but a big step. Are you nervous?”

Nervous didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what Hope was feeling. Kelley is Hope’s first long term relationship. Sure she had a few flings here and there, but none lasted more than a few months. Hope always got tired and annoyed with her flings and would end them without an ounce of remorse.

With Kelley it’s different. She wants Kelley 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

And that scares her the most because they are young. They are only in their senior year of high school. They have yet to enter the world of college where you’re supposed to explore and experiment and find yourself. But for Hope, she has found herself. She found herself in the heart of a 5’5 bubbly defender who has no boundaries of personal space and laughs at the stupidest jokes. The one who loves squirrels more than she likes most people and who is so innocent but yet so devious and devilish.

But she is also the one who has a sense of adventure and learning new things. And that is where the fear lies within Hope. Will Hope eventually be old news once the proposed new adventure of college is laid out in front of her?

“Hope?” Tobin’s smooth voice broke her from her thoughts.

Hope shook her head side to side as if to clear the hazy fog and looked at Tobin.

“Sorry. It’s just. Kelley is everything to me and with so much to have; there is so much to lose.” Hope deflated and looked at the ground.

Tobin’s heart ached for keeper. She knew exactly what she was feeling because she was in the same situation with Alex. The forward was everything to her and while she knew who she was separately, who she was together as Tobin and Alex was much more special and appealing.

She reached over and gripped Hope’s broad shoulder.

“Cook her dinner Hope. And tell her how you feel. Be honest with her. It’s the best thing you can do aside from loving her.” Tobin replied earnestly.

Hope drew her eyes from the ground and looked into Tobin’s eyes that were nothing but honest and sincere.

“Thanks Tobs. You are the best best friend.” Hope smiled.

“I’ll always be here for you bro. We are in this together for life and it’s a super bonus our girlfriends love each other too.” Tobin smiled back.

The two sat in comfortable silence before their phones went off simultaneously.

**Lex <3:** I just realized your grandma went back home to New Jersey two days ago so where are you since you’re NOT shopping with Grandma Heath?

**My World <3:** So I ran into Carli at the mall and she was on a date with Brian and not hanging out with you so unless you are out buying me a pet squirrel, you are in a boat load of trouble Hope Amelia Solo!

“Shit! Kelley saw Carli and used my full name!” “Alex realized my grandma is another state. Gotta go!”

The two yelped before rushing to their cars; Tobin to the ice cream shop to get Alex’s favorite chocolate ice cream and Hope to a toy store for a stuffed squirrel.

 

For a Friday, time was dragging by extremely slow but Tobin didn’t mind since it left her a lot of time to think of what to do for Alex for the weekend.

It had been two days since her and Hope’s meeting at the park and she still had nothing. She never has problems thinking of things to do with Alex, mostly because they didn’t need extravagant dates to be happy. They loved simply cuddling and watching movies together. But Tobin was determined to do something different.

Ms. Anderson was at the front of the class lecturing when she saw the glazed over look in Tobin’s eye.

“Tobin, am I boring you?” Ms. Anderson scolded while trying hard to keep the amusement out of her voice. She really did favor Tobin and it was hard to not show that.

Tobin shook out of her thoughts and stuttered before smoothly replying.

“O-of course not Ms. Anderson. I was simply testing that while I can hear you teaching, am I really listening? The answer is of course I am listening. I can hear sounds that are producing words from your mouth but I am also listening since I’m processing the words and transpiring them onto my notes. Therefore, I can hear and listen to your teaching even if it appears that I am not.” Tobin replied with an earnest smile, thankful this class was philosophy, and Ms. Anderson took all of her willpower to not laugh.

“I expect great notes on that paper Tobin.”

“How can I take anything less than great notes when there is a great teacher?” Tobin replied smoothly.

All the other students either went ‘ooooh’ or snickered while Ms. Anderson couldn’t help the little chuckle that escaped before going back to the lecture.

Tobin immediately went back to day dream land trying to come up with a plan for Alex.

Ms. Anderson decided to let the class work on homework for the last 15 minutes while she graded some papers. Tobin sat with her book, tapping her pencil and reading about space when it suddenly it hit her. She mentally did a happy dance as a huge smile spread across her face as she tried to hide it behind her book.

When the dismissal bell rung, Tobin sprung up from her seat and dashed out the door as she threw a “See ya tomorrow Ms. Anderson” over her shoulder.

She navigated the halls and crowds of students gracefully as she rounded the corner and noticed Alex shifting from foot to foot waiting for her.

A big dopey grin spread across her lips as Tobin tiptoed her way behind Alex. She wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist and whispered in her ear.

“Alexandra Patricia Morgan, you are under arrest.”

Alex giggled and turned in Tobin’s arms and wrapped her own around Tobin’s neck.

“What’s the charge officer?” Alex asked playing along.

“For being too damn beautiful.” Tobin winked before kissing Alex on the lips.

Alex smiled into the kiss and kissed back for a few seconds before pulling back and resting her forehead against Tobin’s.

“I’ll plead guilty but only if you those handcuffs I bought you.” Alex purred against Tobin’s lips.

Tobin let out an involuntary moan before kissing Alex once more and shifting so one arm was wrapped around Alex’s waist and stuck her hand in Alex’s right back jeans pocket as Alex cuddled in Tobin’s side and the two made their way towards lunch.

“So soccer is starting again next week. It’s Friday and I wanted to do something special just you and me.” Tobin spoke as they walked.

“What did you have in mind?” Alex asked with eagerness. She loved spending time with Tobin.

“I texted Jeff and asked if I could borrow his truck. I was thinking I could drive us to Santa Monica Point, you know the cliff that overlooks Santa Monica Beach, and then lay in the bed of the truck with a massive amount of blankets and pillows and stargaze and watch the waves all cuddled up.” Tobin stated excitedly.

Alex stopped their walking and when Tobin turned to look questioningly at Alex, she saw a huge grin stretched from ear to ear on her girlfriend’s face.

“Babe, I love that idea so damn much! I always read about ideas like that but to actually be doing it with you? OMG yes!!!” Alex bounced excitedly as her blue eyes lit up and hugged Tobin.

“Great! We’ll go to watch the sunset and then stargaze.” Tobin smiled and hugged back before grabbing Alex’s hand and continuing their way to lunch.

 

***Later That Day***

Tobin pulled up to the cliff that overlooked the beach at sunset and parked with the bed of her brother’s truck facing the drop off. Tobin smiled brilliantly at Alex and gave her thigh a squeezing before letting go and hopping out of the truck.

Alex’s heart melted at her excited girlfriend as she climbed out of the truck and followed after Tobin. She watched as Tobin moved around the bed of the truck arranging and rearranging all the blankets and pillows so they were just right before throwing her fists in the air in triumph when she was finished.

She turned towards Alex and leaned down to extend her hand. Alex kicked her shoes off to join Tobin’s already discarded ones and took Tobin’s offered hand and climbed into the bed of the truck. She laid down in the surprisingly comfortable nest before tugging on the middy’s hand, silently instructing her that she wanted her to join.

Tobin happily obliged and shifted around until she was comfortable before lifting her arm and wrapping it around Alex’s shoulders and allowing the forward to tuck into her side.

The two sat in silence for a while just enjoying the sounds of the beach, the warm breeze, and the synchronized rhythmic beats of their hearts.

With the sun off to bed and the stars awakening, Tobin let out a hum of approval as Alex’s fingers danced across her stomach in random shapes.

Tobin began to point out the constellations that could be seen at that time of year when they saw a shooting star. Alex gasped in excitement as she burrowed further into Tobin’s side.

“Did you see that Tobs?! Make a wish!” Alex gleefully whispered.

Tobin chuckled at her superstitious and cliché girlfriend but she couldn’t help the grin tugging at the corners of her mouth before stretching from ear to ear.

She automatically thought to wish for something in regards to Alex but she didn’t want to cheapen what she had with the girl. Alex wasn’t just some wish that you hope comes true. Alex was something you worked hard for because as her grandfather once said to her, “Anything worth having in life doesn’t come easy.” Tobin worked hard to be great at soccer which led her to her acceptance to the CSA. She worked hard to be a good person. And she worked hard to get the acceptance letter from UNC. But as important and worthy all those elements were, nothing was worth the hard work or dedication more than the beautiful 5’7 brunette with the raspy voice and alluring eyes tucked in her side.

So Tobin elected to not make a wish but send up a silent thank you to the big man upstairs: A thank you for the opportunities that are starting to open since being recruited to the CSA, a thank you for a loving and supportive family, and a thank you for a happy and healthy 18 years of life so far. And the biggest thank you of all was the presence of Alex in her life.

And since it wasn’t a wish but a truthful admission of thanks between her and God, Tobin knew she wasn’t breaking superstition of her wish being negated by telling another person. So she told Alex what she was thinking and feeling.

“Did you make a wish?” Tobin’s smooth voice broke through silence.

“Mhm. But I can’t tell you or it won’t come true!” Alex quickly told her. Tobin just laughed and pulled her closer.

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to tell me.” She chuckled as she kissed Alex’s head. “I didn’t make a wish.” She stated plainly.

“Tobinnnnn. You’re supposed to make a wish when you see a shooting star!” Alex whined.

“I know but I immediately thought of wishing something about you but it felt like a cop out because you’re worth all the effort in the world to make sure you’re happy. I can wish all day for you to love me but if I can’t make you happy, than there is no point. So I decided to send a silence thank you between me and God, and well, now you. I thanked him for all the opportunities he has given me so far. I thanked him for allowing me to put in hard work to become a better soccer player every day so I can make my dream of being a professional soccer player come true. I thanked him for my family and my health and all that. And of course, I may not have wished for something with you, but I definitely thanked him for you. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me Lex and I will never, ever, take advantage of that or waste any opportunity to show you that. Do you know why?” Tobin asked in all honesty and Alex had to will away the tears that were forming to fall.

Tobin shifted so she could look into her favorite blue eyes, the only blue eyes she ever wants to look at again and gently swiped her thumb across Alex’s cheekbone.

“Because I understand being able to love you and be loved by you is not a right but a privilege. Privileges can get taken away at any given time and you are not something I want to get taken away from me. Ever.”  

Any resolve Alex had, crumbled as silent tears rolled down her cheeks before splashing onto Tobin’s shirt. Tobin tried her best to kiss the tears away but it was hard to do when her own tears were falling freely.

Alex leaned in and kissed Tobin gently on the lips, tasting the strawberry chapstick and hint of salt from their tears as their lips moved together in perfect sync.

Slowly the kiss ended and Alex was the first to pull away.

“Do you want to know what I wished for?” She whispered so low that Tobin barely heard it.

“Lex you don’t have to tell me.” She tried but Alex cut off her with a peck on the lips.

“It’s a silly superstition. I too wanted so hard to wish for you but I didn’t and that just further proves just how much we are meant to be. I didn’t want to cheapen our love by some silly wish but I was also selfish and maybe a little ungrateful because I didn’t say thank you but wished for something more. I wished for the chance to continue to be a better person, to learn to accept flaws and situations beyond my control, and to continue to be the supportive friend everyone deserves and to be the girlfriend you deserve.”

Alex looked away to compose herself and only gained more confidence when she felt the repetitive patterns Tobin was drawing on her back.

“Tobin I let my pride and ego along with my injury get the best of me this past season and I treated you like garbage at times which you never deserved. You became a punching bag and only when your stitching started to rip was when I started to realize that I was treating you unfairly and for that I am sorry. I should have taken better care of your feelings, of your heart, but through it all, it made me realize what I have already known all along. You’re it for me Tobin Heath. And we may only be 18. And we may have the whole world ahead of us. And it may be crazy to think like this now. But I know without a doubt it will always be you and me and what you said is so beautifully true so I will agree with you wholeheartedly. Tobin Heath, loving you and being loved by you is a privilege of the highest honor. I love you.” Alex finished as she tried to blink the tears away to look at Tobin’s face.

When her vision cleared, she was met with the most beautiful sight; honey brown eyes filled with affection and illuminated in a bright glow from the moonlight reflecting off the tears still in her eyes and an impossibly wide and brilliant grin.

“I love you too.” Tobin spoke with slightly trembling lips before leaning in to kiss Alex’s quivering ones.

Without disconnecting their lips, the two soccer stars scooted so Tobin was lying flat on her back with Alex half on top of her. The two kissed for a while before oxygen became a problem and broke it off.

“You and me together.”

“Forever.”

Alex moved so her head was lying on Tobin’s chest as Tobin looked up towards the starry sky and smiled when she saw another star shoot across the sky before closing her eyes to listen to the crashing waves and Alex’s breathing.

_‘I wish to marry this girl one day.’_

 

***Meanwhile***

Hope leaned up against the kitchen island and nervously twirled her phone in her hand. She tried to take some deep breaths to calm her racing heart but it didn’t seem to help as her heart continued to pound against her chest.

After a few minutes of trying to calm down, Hope opened Kelley’s text folder and sent her a text.

**Hope:** Hey Babe. Are you free tonight?

**My World <3:** I am anything you want me to be ;) what’s up?

Hope rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile at the comedic relief.

**Hope:** Come to my house at 6 sharp. I would like to cook dinner for you and then maybe stay in and cuddle with a movie if that’s okay with you?

Kelley took a few seconds to reply and Hope was growing more and more anxious as she gripped the edge of the island to keep her knees from buckling from the nerves.

**My World <3:** That sounds like a perfect night to me. I will see you at 6. I love you!

**Hope:** Great! See you then and I love you too.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Hope looked at the counter at the 3 shopping bags with a big relieved smile.

_‘I’m glad she said yes.’_

The chicken and green beans were done and sitting in the oven to keep warm at a low temperature while the rice was just about done cooking. While the rice was finishing, Hope raced around to get everything else ready.

Glancing at the clock and seeing it was 5:55, Hope moved in a careful chaos to plate the food before Kelley had arrived.

**Ding! Dong!**

_‘She’s here!’_ Hope thought aloud as she ran to do the door to greet her girlfriend.

“Hey beautiful.” Hope breathed as she met the eyes of Kelley.

Kelley smirked as she looked Hope up and down.

“Hey yourself. This is a new one.” Kelley grinned harder as she tugged on the apron Hope was still wearing.

Hope looked down and her cheeks instantly turned bright red as she wasn’t wearing her normal “Kiss the cook… but only if you’re Kelley O’Hara” apron that Kelley got her two Christmases ago.

No, Hope was still wearing a new one her mother had gotten her; one that was sporting a cartoon chicken in a chef hat cooking an egg with the saying “Egg-cellent.”

“Uh well… the one you got me is in the laundry… and my mom got me this… and I didn’t want to get dirty so…” Hope stuttered but was cut off with a kiss.

“Relax Hopey Bear. I think you look so adorable in it and honestly? It’s so dorky, it’s cute and I love how I’m the only one that gets to see this side of you.” Kelley gushed.

“I love you.” Hope grinned as she kissed Kelley.

Kelley melted into the kiss because there really was no one cuter than Hope Solo.

“Mmm, I love you too. Now where is this dinner I was promised because I can smell it and it smells delicious.”

Hope rolled her eyes but smiled as she grabbed Kelley’s hand and tugged her towards the kitchen.

As soon as Kelley was tugged into the kitchen, Kelley was taken aback by the atmosphere. Soft music played from the blue tooth speakers as the dimmed lights and lit candles around the table casted a beautiful and romantic glow as the decadent smell of the prepared dinner wafted through Kelley’s nose and tickled her senses and made her salivate just a little.

Hope watched Kelley’s features in wonderment as she observed all the different emotions express themselves across her freckle painted skin. She watched Kelley cautiously move from her spot in the entrance and slowly work her way towards the table but stopping short when she noticed her name in beautiful cursive on a piece of paper next to a gorgeous and colorful bouquet of flowers.

Kelley traced the lettering of her name before bending over and smelling the fresh cut flowers and letting out a small hum of delight. She turned to question Hope but was rendered breathless, not expecting the usually hard looking keeper to be watching her with warmth in her ice blue eyes and a soft, love sick smile upon her lips.

In 5 long strides thanks to her tall stature, Hope made her way to stand in front of Kelley and reached up to gently grab both sides of Kelley’s face. She ran the pads of her thumbs across her cheekbones before leaning forward and placing a featherlike kiss against her forehead and pulling away right after.

“I made baked chicken that is coated in breadcrumbs and parsley, green beans sautéed in garlic and olive oil, brown rice, and of course…” Hope trailed off before grinning at the semi elegant dinner and then at the filled glass next to Kelley’s plate. “Apple juice to drink.” Hope stated proudly before kissing Kelley’s temple.

She let out a giggle when she heard Kelley let out a squeal of excitement before kissing the keeper and taking her spot at the table. Kelley loved her chocolate milk, but the defender had a weakness for apple juice.

Hope joined Kelley at the table and hesitated to eat until Kelley took her first bite. Sure she has cooked for Kelley before, but every time felt like the first time and Hope couldn’t help but be nervous. She wanted to give Kelley nothing but her best in every aspect of her life, and food and a happy tummy was the biggest part, (aside from her heart) of her life since the defender loved food.

Kelley cut a piece of her chicken then stabbed a few green beans before scooping up a small bit of rice and popping the bite in her mouth. Hope watched with a nervous curiosity as Kelley slowly moved her jaw muscles to chew the food before swallowing the bite. It was only a few seconds of silence, but it felt like hours to Hope, before Kelley’s eyes widen just a little before closing completely and her tongue darted out of her mouth to swipe across her bottom lip as a satisfied hum of approval escaped her throat.

“Hope this is so delicious. You really should think about becoming a professional chef after soccer.” Kelley finally let out and opened her eyes.

Hope let out a breath before grinning at her girlfriend.

“I’m glad you like it. And it’s something to think about but it really all depends where we are at that time in our lives and everything.” Hope quipped without really thinking of what she just said as she dug into her own plate of food.

But Kelley’s eyes widened at the admission.

_‘Does Hope mean what I think she means?’_

“Where we are?” Kelley asked with a slight hesitation, not wanting to get her hopes up in case what she was thinking was taken out of context.

Hope heard the hesitated question and froze.

_‘Shit. It’s too early right?’_

Unsure of what to do, Hope took a big bite of food in hopes the time it took to chew and swallow would allow her panic to settle and think of a good explanation.

All too quickly, the bite was finished and Kelley’s eyes have yet to waver from Hope’s face. Hope took a deep breath and tried to explain herself.

“I-I mean we are both going to college and hopefully go professional and health permitting, it depends how long we play and-“ Hope huffed in frustration at her inability to get what she wanted to say.

The confident keeper went silent and coward into herself. There was only one thing in this world that made Hope nervous and scared and that was the potential of losing Kelley O’Hara.

Kelley just sat quietly and watched the frustration flash through Hope’s eyes as the keeper battled herself.

Hope sighed loudly and decided to just put everything out there and pray Kelley doesn’t run through the door without a glance back.

“Look Kel. This is way too early to talk about and it might change things but I need to be honest. I see a future with you and what I mean by ‘where we are’ is quite simply this: I see us graduating college, maybe the same one maybe not, and becoming pro. I see us traveling the world playing the game we love together. I see us getting married in front of all of our friends and family. I see us having kids and fighting over what position they’ll play in soccer. I don’t know where we will both be in our careers or what age we’ll stop playing but that will all come with time. And by the time the soccer cloud has settled and we are established into domestic life, I don’t know where becoming a chef would come into play. Maybe I’ll become one. Or maybe I’ll become something else and only share my cooking with you and our family. Things change and life happens, but I want to make those types of decisions when the time comes… together. And I’m sorry if this is too much but I can’t help how I feel and you deserve to know. You are my favorite hello and my hardest goodbye and I hope one day the time comes where I stop having to say goodbye but I’m deathly afraid of that time never coming.” Hope finished as she looked down at her hands in her lap afraid to look up.

Kelley O’Hara is a lot of things but quiet isn’t one of them and it’s almost next to impossible to get her to shut up. But right now, in the middle of Hope’s kitchen, Kelley O’Hara is rendered speechless.

It’s an agonizing silence for both girls but for different reasons. Hope fears she has just fucked up the most important thing in her life while Kelley is desperately trying to find words to assure Hope but doesn’t know how to top what the taller girl said without sounding repetitive.

Kelley moves her chair back to stand up and Hope winces at the scraping of the chair legs against the tile floor.

_‘Fuck. I scared her and she’s leaving and the best thing to ever happen to me is about to walk through the door and never come back. Why did I have to say anything?’_

Hope chanced a glance up and felt her heart crack when the chair was no longer occupied with the bubbly girl.

_‘She’s gone.’_

Hope bowed her head in utter shame as tears welled in her eyes and burned a line of failure down her cheeks. All of a sudden, Hope’s chair was pulled back from the table. Startled, Hope’s eyes flew open but only saw darkness as her face pressed into something warm and soft with the occasional ripple against her forehead and a weight settled on top of her.

Kelley had pulled the chair so she could have room to straddle Hope’s lap before pulling Hope’s head into her chest against her heart and rest her chin on top.

“Hey, hey, hey. No need to cry. I’m right here.” Kelley cooed as she gently rocked them back and forth.

Hope’s sniffles started to calm and she mumbled against Kelley’s chest.

“I thought you left.”

Kelley pulled Hope’s head back to look her in the eyes.

“I would never leave unless you were holding my hand and coming with me.” She whispered with a gentle smile.

The two stared at each other in silence with nothing but affection radiating off the two for a while before Kelley broke the silence.

“Let’s finish this delicious food because there is a bed ready for cuddling and a whole bunch of movies waiting to be watched.”

Hope nodded and the two resumed eating in a comfortable silence.

Later that night in bed, Kelley was snuggled into Hope’s side with her head on her chest and drawing circles on her stomach as Hope rubbed her back.

The rhythmic patterns on her stomach were lulling Hope to sleep when Kelley shifted so she was laying completely on top of Hope with her arms folded on her chest and chin laying on top.

Hope opened her eyes to look into her favorite hazel eyes and smiled.

Kelley grinned back with a slight twinkle in her eye.

“You’re wrong you know.” Kelley stated plainly which caused Hope’s eyebrows to furrow.

Kelley suddenly got shy and looked down at the keeper’s exposed collar bone from her tank and starting to draw a circle with her index finger.

“You will never have to say goodbye to me without the promise of a hello. I see and want all of what you see and want Hope. I want to play the game I love with woman I love. I want to get married and rub it Tobin and Alex’s faces that we had a bigger and better wedding. I want little O’Solos running around and I will even love the one that chooses to be a keeper. I would support you if you did become a chef and I would support you if you didn’t because then it’s a part of you that I get to keep for myself and our kids. I want it all but I didn’t say anything because my greatest fear is losing you too.” Kelley stopped drawing circles and looked up at Hope who was staring at her with loving eyes.

“I love you. I know it’s not much. But it’s all I have.” Hope’s vulnerable voice whispered.

“It’s all I could ever need because I love you too.” Kelley smiled a nose crinkling smile before connecting their lips together.

 

Tuesday morning came and Kelley was still on a high from her amazing weekend with Hope plus celebrating the first soccer meeting yesterday where Hope was named co-captain for the new season along with Alex appointed by Abby and Christie who graduated and were off to college.

With the new admissions and step in their relationship, plus over celebrating late into night, Kelley was buzzing and couldn’t keep still. She was in her 4th class and was getting antsy in her seat. She kept tapping her pencil repeatedly against her desk as if she was performing a drum solo while simultaneously bouncing her leg up and down.

Hope gave up trying to calm the younger girl down when Kelley literally bounced Hope’s hand off her thigh. Even Brandon, a quiet boy who sits on the other side of Kelley, tried to calm her down by taking her pencil and throwing it across the room. Kelley just glared before taking out a pen and turning her glare into smirk at the boy who visibly groaned and turned his body away from Kelley.

Finally, sweet relief came in the form of the bell that signaled the end of class. Kelley half listened to Mr. Gordon’s goodbye speech as she threw all her things into her bag and bounced from foot to foot waiting for Hope to pack up

The two girls made their way out of the class, picked up Carli who was 3 doors down, and towards the cafeteria to meet up with their friends. The three players made their way out of Johnson Hall when the spotted Tobin and Alex in an animated conversation with Cheney and A-Rod. The closer they got, the easier it was to hear said conversation.

“Remember when Tobin got so mad at practice that one time because Kelley nutmegged her?” Amy laughed.

“She did not nutmeg me!” Tobin defended.

At this, Kelley smirked at Hope and Carli.

“Shall we go rain on her parade?” Hope and Carli laughed and nodded their heads.

Kelley made her way over and threw her arm over Tobin’s shoulder.

“Oh my dear Tobito. I did nutmeg you. And you slipped trying to recover. And you fell. And I did score. Let’s not lie to everyone now.” Kelley smirked causing the whole group to laugh.

“I hate you all. And where did you even come from? You just pop out of nowhere!” Tobin pouted as she shrugged Kelley off and crossed her arms.

Tobin’s mini tantrum caused all the girls to laugh again as they made their way to the cafeteria.

As they were walking, shouts from passing students grabbed their attention.

“Yo Heath. Can’t wait to see your magic on the field again!”

“Heath! Don’t face plant like you did last time we played 1 v1.” That was courtesy of Carter who Tobin punched as she passed and the two friends laughed in good fun.

“Serious footwork skills Heath.”

“Can’t wait to see you break your own record Alex!”

“Cap-tain Mor-gan. *clap clap clapclapclap* Cap-tain Mor-gan. *clap clap clapclapclap*” People started to chant.

The girls smiled in thanks and high fived their peers.

The next round of shouts caused looks of surprise from two people and proudness from their friends.

“O’Hara! Can’t wait to see more karate kick goals!”

“Yeahhh Kelley! Best scoring defender in the country!”

Kelley beamed and high fived the students that offered.

Then something happened that caused shock in everyone including a certain keeper.

“I’m calling it now. Solo with another clean sheet record!”

“Best keeper around!”

“Fuck yeah Captain Solo!”

Hope stared in shock as she took in the shouts of praise. No one really outside their team praised Hope. Not because she wasn’t any good, but because her resting bitch face scared quite a few students. But now they were testing and braving the waters by being vocal about their appreciation of the keeper.

A grin worked its way onto Hope’s face as she looked at Kelley.

“See I told you babe. The people love you… just not as much as me.” Kelley smiled warmly and kissed the keeper.

“How come nobody ever cheers for us?!” Amy complained causing the group to laugh.

It’s not entirely true and it’s not entirely false. The whole school loved the whole team but Alex and Tobin were always the fan favorites with their on field and off field chemistry and the school had no shame in telling them so.

But ever since the middle of last season, Kelley was starting to rise on the charts of fan favorite. And sure, Hope was dating Kelley, a well-liked individual. But the talent the keeper produced in between the goal posts left everyone in silent awe. And if Kelley wasn’t scared of the badass keeper, than why should they? So now they have broken their silence and are starting to freely express their appreciation of the number one keeper in the California, maybe even in the country.

So with the soccer season officially kicked off, a subtle shift in the dynamics has made itself known.

It wasn’t drastic. But it wasn’t unnoticed.

Tobin and Alex are the dynamic duo of school. The power couple. They still are going into their last high school season except this time they are being flanked by new fan favorites. A new couple who at first had the school puzzled, but now they have found all the right fitting pieces.

Senior year was about to change because now Santa Monica High School didn’t have one power couple. They had two.

A change in dynamics.

A change in power.

A power shift.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick thank you again. Thank you for sticking with me and reading. I hope it wasn't too terrible of an ending and I hope you enjoyed. Feedback of any kind is welcomed and appreciated. Until next time friends :)

**Author's Note:**

> All feedback welcomed. Continue it? Delete it? The power is yours haha.


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